The League: Come the Conqueror
by Lord of House Doofenshmirtz
Summary: The Flash, Supergirl & Green Arrow must unite The League again when portals in National City unleash a bloodthirsty army from another Earth. Can The League save their world from an old enemy seeking conquest & vengeance?
1. Supergirl I

This story takes place in a literary Arrowverse I created that started with my fic titled "The League". Some things in the show lore may not be the same for the sake of the story, for example Supergirl exists on Earth-1 in these stories. Certain things mentioned or events referenced you don't recognize may have happened in previous stories in my Arrowverse. You _**DO NOT**_ need to read any other story to understand what is happening here.

Also, I'd like to take a moment to praise my amazing beta, InsertImaginativeNameHere ! Seriously, the best beta I've worked with my entire time I've been using this wonderful site! We've been working together on everything since The League & I refuse to even try to find anyone else lol. If you're looking for a trusty, consistent & friendly beta with excellent communication skills then look no further!

Thanks for reading & please don't forget to review.

Enjoy.

* * *

The League: Come the Conqueror

Supergirl I

* * *

Somewhere outside National City

The hallway was dark, lit only by small bluish light that pulsed every few seconds. The bluish light was cast by some strange and alien machinery that seemed to line the entire hallway as far as the eye could see.

The structure itself was also alien in nature, the architectural design work being beyond anything currently seen on all of Earth. It was quiet throughout and only the occasional footstep was heard by some unseen passerby.

Then a spark appeared in the hall. Quickly at first, then vanishing and reappearing. Finally the spark burst forth and spread out into a bright yellowish white portal through which five figures stepped through.

They all looked around, assessing the situation and seeming to find it to their liking. "Amazing…" one of them muttered as he touched the wall beside them, "…Ginuwine Kryptonian design…"

"Careful, Lord," one of the figures warned. He was clearly older than the others, with fine wrinkles and white hair but moved with a youthful grace and vigor. He almost seemed as if he wasn't old at all. "Who knows what their technology can do."

Maxwell Lord stopped admiring the wall and looked at the man who had warned him. "Sound advice," he remarked.

"Faust is right," a third spoke up, pointing at the older man who had warned Lord. "We don't know what we're walking into right now. Supergirl alone is a problem. I've faced her but she's-"

"Supergirl without the pathetic moral compass and shortsightedness?" The fourth raised an eyebrow, gazing at Felix Faust, Maxwell Lord and the other two men with him. "She is exactly what we need. After all I've shown you, you still doubt our power, Thawne?"

Eobard Thawne glared. "You've shown me a great many things and your reach extends all over the world but we are talking about beings from space. Beings with godlike powers and their own agenda." He looked to the other figure. "Merlyn, you can't think this is the best approach."

"I won't tell you again, Thawne. My name is Ra's Al Ghul," was the cold reply Thawne received from the robed League of Assassins leader. "This is not the time nor place for such discussion. Your eyes have only recently been opened so we'll forgive your questioning."

"You'll forgive?" Thawne's face twisted. "Don't think-"

"Enough." Vandal Savage brushed his shoulders off. "Follow me."

Savage turned on his heels and began stalking down through the hallway with his arms folded behind his back. He knew no fear, only the undying drive to obtain more power. This would be his ultimate test. Up until this point Savage had thought he'd met and negotiated with every being he could imagine on this world.

Even now he was surrounded by some of the most powerful men in the world. An immortal master of the mystical arts, the immortal leader of the greatest killers on the planet, a time traveling speedster, and one of the wealthiest and most intelligent men on the planet. Together they would be the ones to shape the very future of this world.

Savage had been alive for more years then he could count if he cared to try. He'd seen empires rise and fall, Kings and Queens beheaded and children slaughtered by the droves. Each dynasty that rose he found his way into it and secured his place among them. Gaining wealth, power and influence throughout the ages. He'd thought he'd seen it all until the rise of the meta-humans.

Everything had changed from that point for Savage. With vigilantes like Green Arrow, meta-humans and aliens policing the streets of America, Savage knew it was only a matter of time before it began happening in the rest of the world. He needed to secure his hold on all things while the shift to the new norm happened if he was to weather the changes.

That mind state had led him to align himself with the then newly crowned Ra's Al Ghul and the rest was history. History that had led him to this point.

Through much cost and effort they had discovered the location of someone who would either become a powerful ally or a powerful enemy. Either way, for his grip to be firm on this world Savage had no choice. There were always others who were out there vying for power just as he was and most were insignificant, unworthy of notice.

She was not one of those people.

Savage rounded the corner and walked right into the control room of Astra Zor-El's secret base.

The room itself was dark like the rest of the ship save for the pulsing blue lights that was given off by the Kryptonian's technology. Astra was standing in the middle of the room looking down at a bright display with words none of them could read. A man was with her, not part of Savage's plan. He'd have preferred it if she'd been alone. They could handle one Kryptonian, but two?

Astra looked up and her eyes widened. "How did you get in here?!" she demanded and walked toward them with fists balled. The man flew over the display and landed in front of Savage.

"I believe my wife asked you a question." He stared into Savage's eyes as if searching for something. If it was fear he was looking for he'd find none.

"We have our ways," Savage said simply while taking a few steps back from the man. 'Husband?' Savage thought. 'Not part of the plan.' But it wasn't something that couldn't be worked around. Two Kryptonian allies was better than one. This situation was still salvageable.

"You have one minute before we kill you all." Astra reached for Savage but he easily dodged.

"We did not come here to fight," Savage said simply. "We came to talk. I believe you've received our invitations." Savage motioned to an envelope that was sitting near the display Astra and the man had just been near.

"So you're the one's that sent that? How did you find us? Or even know where to look?" The man folded his arms. He had a confident air about him and it was clear he wasn't feeling threatened by Savage and the others but more so curious.

"Indeed we are." Maxwell Lord walked up to stand next to Vandal Savage.

"I know you," Astra pointed at Lord. "I've seen you on the televisions of National City. Maxwell Lord."

Lord smiled a little and held out his hands like he was a star. "Here in the flesh," he joked.

"And why is that again?" Astra's husband interjected.

"This is my husband and second-in-command, Non." Astra motioned to him. "And I suggest you answer his questions."

"We're here because we know you two have an agenda for how you see the world," Savage began. "As do we." He motioned to his companions. "Instead of waiting until our two agendas possibly collide we thought it best if enlightened individuals such as ourselves spoke and sought out a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Astra looked intrigued while Non quickly waved his hand. "Why would we need anything from you, human? And why should we care about any agenda you or any other humans have?"

Savage and the others all stared at Non and when Astra said nothing Savage replied, "We did not come here to make enemies."

"For curiosity's sake, what would you have of us, human?" Non mocked.

"Join with us. Together we'll shape the very foundation of dynasties for the next millennia." Savage smiled.

"Millennia?" Non laughed and looked at Astra. "You humans don't even live that long."

"We are not like any you've come across before," Felix Faust croaked in an annoyed tone. "And I would appreciate if you cut out the childish insults. My associate did say this was to be a meeting of the enlightened. I'm beginning to suspect if your presence is a front to that statement."

Non started to walk forward but was shocked when Astra reached out and stopped him quietly. "We thank you for your time and offer but we have no interest in being your associates." She looked at Non who had begun smiling. "Nor enemies." This wiped the premature smirk from her husband's face.

"Very well." Savage bowed a little. "Faust, if you don't mind."

Felix Faust waved his hand and muttered a quick incantation. There was a pop sound and the five men were gone from the Kryptonian vessel and back in their meeting room.

"That could have gone better," Maxwell Lord muttered while pouring a drink.

"How did we not know about the husband?" Ra's Al Ghul asked nobody in particular.

"It doesn't matter," Vandal Savage interrupted them. "None of it. She will join the Light."

"You heard her, Savage." Eobard Thawne, who had remained deathly silent and on edge the entire time finally spoke up. "How do you plan to get her to join us?"

Savage took a sip from a drink he'd made. "We'll have to handle this the old fashioned way." He pulled one of his daggers from his coat and examined it. It was ancient with Egyptian designs all down the handle. The blade looked unlike any metal ever forged. "We kill Non."

* * *

National City

"C'mon, Billy!" a sweet female voice called out with a little giggle. "Stop it! Someone might see us!"

"I know…" came the deep and seductive voice of a man.

The two young adults were tucked away down a shaded alleyway of a downtown hotel. The traffic down here was minimal but people and cars could be seen passing by both ends of the alleyway.

"Billy…" but this time she didn't tell him to stop.

He kissed her neck and she heard an electrical sound behind him. Opening her eyes she saw white and blue sparks flickering.

"Billy!" she patted his back several times. "What the hell is that?!"

"It's nothing babe…" Billy stopped kissing her and looked behind him just as the white and blue sparks coalesced and formed a man-sized swirling hole. "Run, Veronica! Run!"

The hole flickered once, twice, and then vanished but Billy and Veronica were gone by then.

* * *

Five men wearing long dirty brown trench coats walked across the street. Their heads were covered by hats or beanies and they were all wearing dark sunglasses. Nobody paid them any mind however as it was cold today so the men walked easily into the large bank and right up to the first security guard.

One of the men pushed his trench coat back and produced a long alien looking weapon. He pulled the trigger and the security guard turned into ash.

"Hands up!"

The other four had continued walking and one produced a similar weapon and turned another security guard into ash.

A third man opened fire on the wood and bulletproof glass that protected the bank workers opening a path for them to get behind and into the vaults.

"Get down! Now! You see what these things can do!" Three men began to herd the people and bankers together while the other two went for the vault in the back. It took them seconds to blast through the defenses with the alien guns and they were soon loading trash bags with money. They each filled two hefty bags and then headed back out into the bank.

Their friends were tied up on the floor and Supergirl was standing there with an angry look on her face. "Really?" She sounded annoyed.

The two dropped the money and both fired at Supergirl. The shots hit her but didn't turn her into ash. She was flung backward and through the doors of the bank. The two men left the money and started to run but Supergirl flew back in and lifted them both by the back of their coats.

"What the-"

She slammed them down on their backs hard enough to knock them both unconscious then melted one of the guns like she'd done the others. She picked the last one up and waved to a few people.

"Sorry about the door," she said to the bank employees and she flew out and up into the sky. She touched her earpiece. "This is Supergirl. Bank things done. They had some alien weapons but I took care of it."

"Did you manage to salvage any of the tech?" Jon asked her from the D.E.O. headquarters.

"Yep. Bringing it in now."

"See you soon. Base out."

Kara flew up into the sky more until the city was just lights below. She came up here when she needed to be alone and think. Now was one of those times. It had been almost three months since she'd broken up with Barry and hadn't spoken to him since that day in Star Labs. Barry had just defeated three evil speedsters and was recovering. At first, Kara had thought he was just being a man and not asking for her help but she'd learned it had been more.

Barry had admitted to things Kara could forgive with time but the trust was gone. They were still so new and without trust…

She floated for a while, wondering how he was doing and what he was doing. She did this less and less as time went on and that was a good sign for her but for now she had to go through the motions before being able to fully move on.

Kara inhaled the fresh air deep into her lungs and then exhaled, symbolic of releasing the stress from herself. With a small smile she took off back towards National City.

* * *

Cat Grant walked with her usual poise and swagger, passing by the cubicles of her employees and ignoring most of them until she reached the desk of Winslow Schott Jr where, by chance, James Olsen was currently standing.

"I hope you both enjoyed your break because it's back to work." She smiled and took off her sunglasses.

"Miss Grant," Jimmy greeted her.

"How's it going?" Winn tried sounding cool and from the stale look Cat gave him he knew he failed. While she could still be one hell of an ice queen at times the three of them had grown closer after what had happened when the Legion waged war against the League.

"I'm fine, Winslow. Thank you for asking," Cat replied while folding up her glasses. "Now, James, I'd like to hear what you've got for me in my office."

She started to leave but Jimmy said, "Actually, Miss Grant, it'd be easier if you let me show you from Winn's desk." He motioned to Winn's computer screen.

Cat walked over, glanced for a second and sighed. "What am I even looking at, James?"

"Well, for the past few days there's been an increasing number of reports flooding in all emergency lines about white and blue holes sparking up all over National City." Jimmy told her and then pointed at the screen. "Winn here sort of set up some kind of system-"

"A system?" Cat interrupted Jimmy and glared at Winn.

"Ah, yeah, just a little algorithm to track otherworldly energy signatures…" Winn was about to continue talking when the stare from Cat Grant shut him up. "…is everything ok?"

"You know how to do that sort of thing?" she asked.

"Yeah, I know a little about computers and stuff…" Winn was visibly uncomfortable.

"Interesting. So…continue…" Cat flicked her hand at the computer.

"So, um, yeah…Winn and I decided to see if there was some validity to these claims-"

"And?" Cat interrupted Jimmy again.

"And," Jimmy continued like it didn't happen. "There is. Now all we have to do is get some actual proof of some kind and we can run the story."

"Is anybody else on this?" Cat asked.

"Nobody yet. My source at the police station says it's being kept quiet and when we searched the web we found nothing but a few internet posts and random blogs. No major publication has a whiff of this yet," Jimmy reported.

"Good." Cat started walking away from them and towards her office. When she reached the door she turned back to Jimmy and Winn who were just staring at her. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get out there and get that proof!"

Jimmy and Winn both got up and started moving but then Winn remembered he was a desk worker and sat back down.

"And where's Kyra?!"

* * *

Alex, J'onn and Kara all stood in the D.E.O. investigations room while they scanned the weapon Kara had brought back to them. "It'll take time to identify, sir," the worker informed Jon.

J'onn nodded. "Keep me informed," he told the man and then turned to leave. "This is just another in a recent string of robberies involving alien tech of some kind."

"Where are the weapons coming from?" Kara asked.

"No idea yet but whatever that is can wait. We've got a serious matter."

"What's going on?" Kara asked her sister.

"Some kind of portals have been opening all over the city," Alex replied.

"Portals?" Kara followed Alex and J'onn into a private room where Jon pulled up a display that showed at least a dozen white and blue circles dotted around National City. "Portals to where?"

"We don't know," J'onn responded. "But the energy is similar to what we sensed months ago at Maxwell Lord's building."

"Right before that mess with the Legion started right?" Kara pieced the puzzle together.

"Exactly," J'onn said. "After that whole mess with the Legion we've been working a little more closely with A.R.G.U.S and Star Labs. We've managed to piece together what we think happened."

"Alright." Kara folded her arms.

"Star Labs confirms that Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, is a time traveler. We ran our readings on the energy through Star Labs systems and it's a perfect match for the energy speedsters release when they're opening portals." Alex moved the display with her hand showing some diagrams and information.

"So do we think this is, Thawne again?" Kara asked.

"No. He's locked up as far as we know and has been since you all wrapped up that Legion mess in Star City," J'onn responded. "This is something else and it's becoming more frequent."

"What do we do?" Kara looked worried.

"Nothing we can do really except track the portals. We've got people following up with citizens that have reported sightings and we're logging all the data we can but there's nothing solid yet." Alex turned off the display.

"So we wait." J'onn folded his arms. "Whatever is going on will happen sooner or later. We'll be ready when it does. Till then I think you both need some time off. Especially you, Kara."

"What makes you say that?" Kara became red and suddenly defensive and Alex laughed.

J'onn smiled as well. "Call it a hunch." He left the room.

"You ok?" Alex asked her sister. Alex knew it had been a while since Kara had broken up with Barry but she still got down sometimes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine," Kara said. "It gets a little better every day, you know?" Alex nodded and rubbed Kara's back a little. "J'onn's right though I really could use a brea-"

Her phone started ringing. "Oh my god!" Kara exclaimed. "It's Miss Grant! Work! I forgot about work! I've got to go!" She ran from the room leaving a smiling Alex alone.

With nothing else to do, Alex pulled the display back up and began to look over the data and maps again. She didn't know how long she stayed in that room. She poured over every speck of information they'd gathered so far but nothing made sense.

Pulling up a chair behind her, Alex sat in it and kicked her feet up onto the display console to lean back. 'Maybe J'onn was right,' she thought to herself. She could get some rest and then tackle this with fresh eyes some other time.

Then she saw something and sat up quickly.

"J'onn! Get in here now! I've got something!" Alex announced over her com link.

* * *

Kara walked as fast as she could while carrying a tray with Miss Grant's beverage selection and her massive bag of food she'd ordered. Which Kara knew was just punishment because Miss Grant would never eat or drink this much.

She stumbled a little as she passed Winn's desk but he smiled at her and said, "Don't worry. She's all hot air today," as Kara continued on to her boss's office.

When she got there she saw the large office was full of employees setting up cameras, lighting and other things all around.

"About time you got here, Kyra." Miss Grant purposely butchered Kara's name again.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Grant I-"

"Yeah, you told me a million times over the phone, it's okay, Kyra you're here now and we can get to work."

Kara raised an eyebrow as Miss Grant came from behind her desk. "What's going on?"

"I've got a surprise exclusive coming in minutes and we've got to set up everything." Miss Grant almost snatched the bag from Kara and opened it. "Help me set up the food on the table and give me those drinks."

Cat took the drinks from Kara and went to her bar where she poured some into a cup then filled a second glass with water and placed them both on the table where Kara had begun putting the food.

"Who is this exclusive?" Kara asked.

Someone knocked on the doorway behind them. "Am I early?"

Kara recognized that voice immediately and had to use every ounce of strength she had to restrain herself as she stared at the face of Maxwell Lord.

"No of course not…"

Kara heard Miss Grant say as she walked over to Maxwell Lord to greet him. Kara was robotic in her pleasantries as her mind was completely focused on not snatching this man up and flying him to the D.E.O lockup. Maybe A.R.G.U.S would take him? She wondered.

Kara hadn't seen Lord since they'd fought in Star City. Lord had shocked them all being the ringleader of the Legion and wearing kryptonite infused armor in the final battle against what would become the League. Lord had escaped the battle and without any hard evidence the D.E.O and A.R.G.U.S couldn't press any charges. Not too long after that Lord had completely fallen off the radar and seemingly vanished for the past several months.

Now here he was, smiling and talking as if he hadn't sided with psychopaths and tried to kill Oliver Queen, Barry Allen and herself in a mad attempt at power.

The employees had finished setting everything up and were all silently standing by while the elite of National City finished their conversations.

Kara swallowed and shook Maxwell's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in a meek and nervous a voice as she could muster.

"And you as well," Maxwell said politely. If Kara hadn't been victim of what he was capable of she wouldn't believe it herself. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes, of course." Cat motioned for Maxwell to sit and for Kara to leave which she did quickly.

She went right to her desk and used her super hearing to listen in on what was going on.

"Alright, Miss Grant we're live in five…four…three…two…"

"Hello, I'm Cat Grant here coming to you live from National City…

'Live?!' Kara was shocked. 'Whatever is going on must be serious for Cat to do a rushed live interview.' Kara tensed, wondering what Maxwell Lord was up to now. Kara found herself lost in thought for a bit and then remembered she was supposed to be listening to the interview.

"…so Mr. Lord, you've been gone from the public eye for quite some time. Many wondered if it was due to health," Cat said.

"It's alright to ask, Miss Grant." Maxwell was calm and friendly, seemingly an open book. "And please, call me, Maxwell."

"Alright, Maxwell," Miss Grant smiled. "Do you have any terminal illness?"

Maxwell laughed. "No, of course not. I'm perfectly fine. In fact, I feel so good it's like I'm going to live a few centuries." He and Miss Grant both laughed. "But in all seriousness, I'm perfectly fine. I needed time for myself and to figure some personal things out. I left the company in good hands and did what I needed to do."

"And now you're back?" Cat sipped her beverage.

"I am and just in time it seems."

"How so?"

"It seems like there's some strange things going on in National City." Lord drank some of his beverage briefly and lightly chewed on a snack cake.

"Care to explain?" Cat inquired.

"Well, the recent string of thefts and killings involving alien technology of some kind for starters. Doesn't seem to me that anybody is any closer to stopping the sudden influx of alien merchandise into our streets," Lord answered.

"And you have a solution?" Cat smiled.

"I'm here to offer my help with that and with the problem of the portals opening up." Cat Grant tensed up when Maxwell mentioned this as she had been hoping to be the first to drop the news to National City.

Kara stood up, 'Lord knows about the portals?!' She had to tell Alex and J'onn what was going on. Kara left her desk and quickly went somewhere private where she dialed her sister.

The phone went straight to voicemail. "Alex, this is Kara. Call me as soon as you get this. I'm heading to the D.E.O now."

* * *

A man walked down a busy street. He wasn't hiding or wearing anything suspicious. He wasn't carrying any weapons or illegal alien tech. He was just a curious tourist looking around at the sights and buildings. He found it somewhat comforting that they were different in many ways but also similar to his home.

He glanced at the highest building while walking and bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't-"

"Watch where you're going asshole!" the other man grumbled and pushed him.

The first man stumbled and then fell backward landing hard on his back. That's when the second noticed that one of the first man's sweater arms hung limply to the side. He was crippled. "Oh shit dude, I'm sorry." He reached down and took the first man's good hand helping him back to his feet.

"No worries, man. I'm new here. Wasn't looking where I was going."

"I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm sorry. I'm not usually like that. My name's, Jason Edwards." he extended his hand to shake.

"Roy. Roy Harper," the first man replied while shaking Jason's hand.

"You have a good day, Roy."

"You too." Jason went to continue on his way and Roy did the same, looking over his shoulder briefly just in time to notice a burst of white and blue sparks flickering right where Jason was heading. "Look out!"

Roy rushed and tackled Jason to the ground just as a portal ripped open right where he was. "What the hell?" Roy stared in amazement while Jason got up and ran for his life.

Roy felt arms hoist him to his feet and begin to pull him away. The portal sputtered once, twice and then burst outward and vanished.

"Are you alright?"

It was a female's voice that brought Roy back to reality. He glanced up to see a strong yet attractive woman with a short haircut standing over him. She was dressed in an all-black military style outfit that was marked with D.E.O on it.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roy stood up and looked around now noticing the area was full of men in similar outfits, some with heavy rifles at the ready.

"Did you see what happened here?" the woman asked him.

"Yeah, actually I did." Roy had heard of the D.E.O from Oliver and the others back in Star City but wasn't given many details other then they dealt with aliens.

The woman turned to a tall black man. "He says he saw everything, Director," the woman said.

"Good. Bring him in for a debriefing." The man walked off giving more orders.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"Roy Harper."

"I'm Alex Danvers of the D.E.O. Nice to meet you, Roy."

* * *

"Yo, Martinez! You readin' me down there?"

"Yeah, yeah. Calm down, Graves. I'm reading ya'."

"Copy that. I'll update the logs. It's you, Clark and Boyd on patrol tonight."

"Copy that, Graves. Martinez out."

The man dressed in security guard attire placed a hand on his sidearm and continued his patrol through the dark and empty warehouse. This building was a storage facility for Lord Tech or one of the major companies in National City and for the most part was quiet except for the random raccoon or drunken homeless person they dealt with.

Martinez worked the graveyard shift and liked it because it was so quiet, especially with coworkers like his. However tonight felt odd and he was on edge and couldn't explain why. Maybe it was all the talk of the portals and stuff on CatCo today. Once Maxwell Lord had dropped the word on TV everything had exploded from there.

Now Martinez was jumping at every bump in the night. Vigilantes, meta-humans, Legions of doom and now aliens? What was the world coming to?

Martinez heard the sound of electricity sparking and flashed his light in a dark corner of the warehouse he was patrolling.

That's when he saw the white and blue sparks almost dancing in and out of his vision.

"What the…" he clicked his walkie talkie, "…Graves, this is Martinez. Send some backup. I've got something weird going on in sector 2."

"Copy that, Martinez. Clark and Boyd are on their way."

Martinez drew his sidearm with shaky hands.

The portal exploded and rapidly expanded until it was twice the size of a man. This time it didn't fluctuate like the others before and held itself together. Martinez had been thrown onto his back and was nervously getting up.

"Boyd! Clark! Get in here now! I've got some kind of weird-"

A gigantic gorilla jumped through the portal with a roar that shook Martinez to his very core. He went to point his gun but the gorilla grabbed him by the arm lifting him from the ground and snapping his arm in pieces. Martinez started to scream but the gorillas other hand clenched his head and squeezed, popping it like an egg.

A dozen other gorillas sprang through the portal just as the first was wiping the brains and blood from his hands.

"Scout the area and kill anyone you find," the first gorilla commanded. "We make way for, Grodd."


	2. Supergirl II

The League: Come the Conqueror

Supergirl II

* * *

Maxwell Lord stood in his office, staring out of his window at the view of National City beneath him. It had been months since he'd been in his office. Inhaling deeply he relished the silence for a little while with his eyes closed.

So much had happened since his fateful encounter with Eobard Thawne and even more when he met Vandal Savage and Ra's Al Ghul.

He opened his eyes and flexed his hands with a smile. "Immortality…" he whispered.

Lord had always considered himself amongst the most intelligent and insightful men on the planet. When the truth about aliens and meta-humans started to arise Lord had his eyes opened to a whole new world. It no longer mattered how smart he was or how much money he had because beings like Supergirl and the Flash had arisen. Still, that hadn't stopped him one bit. Science and technology could overcome all and so he'd set his sights on overcoming what he perceived to be the greatest threat to humanity.

Supergirl.

His attempts against her were thwarted left and right driving him to deeper and darker frustrations that led him in a circle of defeat at her hands in some form or another.

Then he met Eobard Thawne.

From there it seemed like her defeat was finally within his grasp only to see it snatched away and his greatest creation torn asunder like sheets of paper. He had reached a breaking point of sorts when Vandal Savage had come and shown him the Light. True wealth, power and control along with things science could not explain. Magic, the supernatural and the greatest gift of all, immortality.

Constantine had tried to stop Felix Faust's magical attempt to extend his life but hadn't fully completed the task. Coupled with Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pits, Lord had assurances of a long and prosperous life where he would shape the world with the Light. A collection of the most powerful and enlightened individuals on the planet. In their few months together they had accomplished things it would have taken him years to do.

There were setbacks, like Santa Prisca, and they were still building as well but that was no matter. Lord needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

These strange portals that were opening up all around National City.

The Light had eyes and ears everywhere and when word came of these portals, Thawne immediately identified them as portals that were used to go between Earths. At that point, Faust, Lord, Savage and Ra's were the ones being taught a lesson by Eobard Thawne. They had all learned of magic and its sort but never had been introduced to other Earths and the vast ocean of time travel. It was during that conversation that Lord realized just why Savage had wanted to bring Thawne into the fold.

It had seemed obvious at first, the Flash was a speedster so naturally they should have one of their own. But Thawne was more than just a speedster and it took time for Lord to realize that. The man was a genius with knowledge of the past and future. A valuable asset indeed.

Still, even he had known recollection of such events happening in the future so they came to the conclusion that the future was changing. A natural occurrence as Thawne originally traveled back in time to unite the Legion against the League. The ripples of that action were still being discovered it seemed. So to adjust, to stay ahead of the wave of change, Lord had been sent back to National City to insert himself in its hierarchy again and gather information as he could and keep them informed.

He honestly loved the fact that nobody knew the true depths of his power and control. It was amusing to him when he was being interviewed by Cat Grant. The shock on her face when he mentioned the portals, thinking that she, a lowly media mogul, could have any information that the Light didn't already have. Pondering that fact, he wondered if they knew he had been supplying alien tech to street criminals in National City simply to cause trouble for Supergirl. It was small and petty but done through third parties and untraceable back to him so there was no harm.

Lord took one last look out of the window and then left his office and went downstairs. He had long since given the day to day running of the company to a lackey while he handled his real business with Savage and the others. His private elevator dropped him off and he walked out of the building, signaling to his driver that he would walk and get some food.

He silently walked down the street, glancing here and there at some things, waving to people and smiling. Some recognized him, many didn't, but he enjoyed it regardless. Savage had a taste for the finer things and the meals they ate were often intricate but for the moment Lord wanted one thing and one thing only.

Big Belly Burger.

The line was usual length and before long he was sitting inside the greasy food chain utterly destroying a delicious cheeseburger combo.

He nearly inhaled the food and finished in minutes, throwing it away as he walked towards the exit. "Savage doesn't know what he's missing…" Lord mused.

A one-armed man held the door open for him and Lord politely replied, "Thank you" and returned the favor.

As soon as he turned around something white and blue exploded in front of him throwing him onto his back.

Lord sat up and saw three armor clad gorillas spring out in front of him. "What the hell?" he scrambled to his feet as one of the gorilla's roared and grabbed him by his shirt. "No, no, no no…" he struggled fruitlessly against the gorillas grip.

It roared again, "We make way for-"

A large metal pole slammed into the gorilla's head stumbling it a bit and Lord was released from its grip. "Run! Run now!" he glanced over to see the one-armed man standing in the doorway and motioning to him.

Lord started to run for the doorway but the gorillas roared again and started to come at the both of them. Just as the first gorilla reached out to grab Lord it was snatched into the air by a blue and red blur. The other two stopped and looked around before a second gorilla was snatched up by a second blur of greenish blue. The third roared and stomped his feet angrily. "Show yourself!"

Supergirl and the Martian Manhunter landed directly between the gorilla and Maxwell Lord. Beside them were the unconscious bodies of both his gorilla friends. The portal behind the gorilla flickered a bit and the beast jumped back into it just as it vanished.

Supergirl looked at Maxwell Lord and they both were silent for a moment, recounting the events of their last encounter in their heads. Then she shocked him by asking, "Are you alright?"

Lord narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Supergirl."

Several blacked out SUV's pulled up to the scene and D.E.O agents began to surround the area. Police sirens could be heard in the distance as well.

Lord turned around to the one-armed man, "You saved my life. Thank you." He extended his hand. "I'm, Maxwell Lord."

"Roy Harper," the one-armed man replied, shaking his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Harper?" Roy looked and saw Alex Danvers standing with Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. She started towards him. "You caught up in this portal mess again?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"What can I say?" Roy smiled a little and humped his shoulders. "Danger always seems to find me."

"Well you should be a little more careful. The danger in National City is a bit different than others." Alex smiled back at Roy. There was something odd about this crippled man but she couldn't put her finger on it. He was more then he seemed for sure. When they'd met a few days ago at the first portal prediction the D.E.O managed to cook up he'd been helpful and compliant but Alex had a feeling something else was going on. Now here he was again, waist deep in trouble.

"Thanks, Alex. I can handle myself though." Roy assured her. "This is-"

Roy started to introduce Lord but Alex stopped him. "We've met." She said bluntly with an evil eye directed at Lord. "You hurt?"

"No, Supergirl already checked but thank you for your concern, Agent Danvers," Lord said cheekily.

"Don't you get smart with me, Lord." Alex took a step forward.

"Agent Danvers!" the Martian Manhunter called from over with Supergirl. They both had the gorillas on their shoulders. Alex scowled at Lord one last time and then turned on her heels.

"Nice to see you again too, Alex," Lord mumbled while brushing himself off when Alex left.

"Cold reception," Roy remarked.

"We dated," Lord replied.

"Explains a lot." Roy nodded his head.

'You have no idea.' Lord thought mischievously. "So this isn't your first time experiencing the portals?" he asked.

"No. Second actually. Hope they aren't attracted to me or anything." Roy absently rubbed the stump of his arm.

Lord looked thoughtful for a minute. "Well how about when the D.E.O finishes questioning us we go out, my treat. I owe you for saving my life and I'd like to hear more about these portals."

Roy raised his shoulders his shoulders nonchalantly. "Sounds good to me."

Alex folded her arms as she got up to Jon and Kara. "Yes?"

"Ease off, Lord." J'onn instructed. "We've got nothing on him so for now play it distant. If he's up to his old tricks again it'll surface and we'll be ready."

"Got it," Alex said, a bit let down but understanding.

"In the meantime, Kara and I are going to take these two to lockup for questioning. See if Lord or Harper knows anything new and meet us back at base. We've got to work out the kinks in his tracking algorithm so we can get ahead of this situation," J'onn instructed.

"Got it." Alex looked over her shoulders and saw the other D.E.O agents were falling to the task of control and questioning. They'd be done here in an hour or so.

J'onn flew off but Kara paused, "We still on for movies tonight?" she asked before she took off.

"Of course," Alex smiled. "Your turn to bring the ice cream." Kara smiled back and flew off after Jon leaving Alex to oversee the cleanup.

* * *

Several gorillas moved through the open expanse of the warehouse. In the corner where the bodies of a dozen or so people that had been killed. The night shift had only been a few guards but every employee that had come after that had been killed as well. Since the first dozen had arrived a few other portals had opened at the same location allowing various other gorillas to come through to Earth-1. They brought with them machinery and were in process of setting up the machinery in the warehouse.

Altogether there was now about two to three dozen gorillas moving about the warehouse completing one task or another. Some wore armor over their chests, shoulders, forearms and legs with helmets atop their heads. They were armed with large spears and shields that were large as grown men. The ones not wearing armor looked to be scientists of some kind with the remaining few conducting all of the manual labor.

This was now happening all over National City. Small units of gorilla warriors popping up in portals and setting up small bases of operation to work out of. Without anyone's notice a small army of gorillas had infiltrated the city and set up shop amongst its peoples.

Another portal sparkled and then opened in the midst of the working gorillas. "Stand back!" one of them shouted to the others.

The portal flexed once, twice, and then a massive ape lumbered through with a loud snort. Atop his head was a golden crown and in his hand was a large staff with a beautiful black gem placed on it.

All of the gorillas immediately bent the knee as more gorilla's warriors began to come through the portal, immediately moving and falling to their respective tasks. Several more came with a large white gorilla bringing up the rear.

"Rise," the crowned gorilla said firmly and they obeyed. The white gorilla stood silently behind Grodd. "How goes the preparations?"

"All is well, King Grodd." One of the smaller, scientist looking gorillas stepped forward nervously. "Our communications are working and we've made contact with two other units so far."

"Good," Grodd grunted. "How many do we have so far?"

"Including those with you we have near 100 fighting apes and we've yet to contact the other two units."

Grodd looked around and was thoughtful for a moment, "Send word. We take down the D.E.O first." He walked away motioning for the white to follow.

"Should we wait until the other units our in contact, my king?" The white gorilla was easily the second largest gorilla in the area but paled in comparison to Grodd's almost unnatural size.

"No, Solovar. Our attack must be precise. With the gem I can take the aliens and we will destroy two threats to my plans in one strike." Grodd eyed the work that his servants had done to prepare for him as they walked.

"As you wish," Solovar replied humbly.

"Soon, National City will be mine." He closed his fist in front of him. "Once this pathetic city has fallen I'll bring war to the Flash and Central City." Grodd had been walking towards a window that had been blocked off by his servants. He ripped the covering down and stared out at National City. "Then apes will rule two worlds."

* * *

"How much longer am I going to be here?" an obviously annoyed Maxwell Lord asked the random D.E.O agent that was in his room.

The agent grunted.

"Oh, alright then. Great talk," Lord scoffed and folded his arms while leaning back in the uncomfortable chair. "Where's my friend, Roy?"

The agent grunted.

"Can you at least send for Agent Danvers or Director Henshaw?" Lord waved to the door. "I haven't done anything."

The door opened. "You're not being held here." Alex walked into the room. "We've had some…issues recently and it's just heightened security."

"Is he a mute?"

Alex laughed, "Who? Johnson?" She poked her thumb at the agent that had been in the room with Maxwell. "Hell no! We had a bet to see how long you'd sit in here before you realized you could go." Alex and Johnson high fived and she reached in her pockets handing him a twenty dollar bill as he left. "I lost."

Maxwell Lord stood up, not amused. "I don't think that's funny. I'm a busy man." He opened the door. "Where is Mr. Harper?"

"I think he's out front in the lobby. He's been waiting for a while now." Alex smirked as she slid by Maxwell. "He knows about the bet too." She giggled.

"That means he knows you lost!" Lord huffed and walked in the opposite direction of the still laughing woman. He made his way through the halls, being familiar with the D.E.O by this point, and straight to the lobby where he found his armless friend sitting comfortably in conversation.

"Took you a while," Roy said in a friendly way.

"You could have come and told me," Lord replied.

"I had stake in it too," Roy replied and Maxwell's face dropped. "I won if it's any consolation." He flashed the forty dollars in his pocket.

"Well I'm glad I could help. Let's get out of here. My ride will be outside waiting." Lord started walking towards the exit with Roy on his heels. Outside a beautiful Mercedes waited for him. The driver opened the door and they both got inside.

Roy had never been in anything this nice and took a look around at the expensive leather and wood interior. "This must cost a fortune…"

Lord almost smiled, "Almost," he said smoothly.

"Where to, Mr. Lord?" the driver asked.

"Somewhere nice. You know what I like," he said without looking.

"Of course, sir."

The car started to go. "So tell me about yourself, Roy. Are you from here?" Lord asked.

"No. My first time here actually. You could say I'm visiting."

"What brings you?"

"Honestly?" Roy seemed hesitant. "Aliens. I wanted the chance to see some alien stuff in person," he lied.

Lord laughed, "I see. Well you've been here a few days and have seen aliens and fought gorillas."

Roy snickered. "Yeah? Crazy. Kind of like home." He whispered absently.

"And home is?"

"Oh, um…" Roy went to lie but something stopped him and he told the truth for a reason he didn't know. "…Star City."

"Star City? Quite the place, I hear." Lord raised his eyebrow. He knew who Roy was and had known since they had met. After the fiasco on Santa Prisca, Vandal Savage had deemed it necessary that they familiarize themselves with everyone involved with Green Arrow's operation in Star City. Ra's Al Ghul was quite familiar with them and provided all the information they needed. Roy Harper was Arsenal, the one-time apprentice of Oliver Queen. Now maimed for Ra's Al Ghul's daughter. Lord had immediately decided it would be best to keep Roy close.

"Yeah, there's no place like it for sure."

"Traveled a lot?"

"Here and there." Roy decided to refrain from too much detail at this point.

"How'd you lose part of your arm?" Lord inquired curiously. "If you don't mind me asking…" he added after a moment of awkward silence passed between them.

Roy looked away out the window, "Protecting a friend." Roy thought back to Santa Prisca and everything that had happened there. Months ago now but still fresh really. At time he still felt his phantom hand where the old one used to be. Still, all in all he was happy that Diggle, Thea and the Suicide Squad had been there to save his life. But that was none of Maxwell's business.

Sensing the sudden tension, Lord changed the subject, "Well I owe you my life so whatever you need you let me know. I want you to have my direct contact."

"That's very generous of you but I just did what I thought was right."

"Humility at this point is silly. You said you were injured protecting a friend and you ran headlong at a gorilla for a stranger. You're a hero, Roy." Lord watched as Roy tensed a little but tried to seem cool. The untrained eye wouldn't have noticed such subtle movements.

"Thank you," was all Roy could think to say in response.

* * *

"I'm almost certain whatever this is leads back to one guy!" Alex slammed a file down onto a table when she walked into J'onn's office.

"I agree." Kara immediately nodded approvingly. "Maxwell Lord. He knows something."

"That little…" Alex inhaled to calm herself down.

"You both need to start accepting that he may not have anything to do with this," J'onn told them.

"He tried to kill Kara."

"Tried to kill me, J'onn."

"I was there." J'onn folded his arms. "They tried to kill us all. I haven't forgotten."

"He had power armor." Alex went on.

"Kryptonite power armor. Shooting beams and stuff." Kara made exploding sounds.

"Listen you two, I'm not saying you're wrong but we have no evidence whatsoever. The last time we moved on Lord like this he ended up walking away with the win," J'onn reminded Alex and Kara. "It's strange, I'll give you that." J'onn stood up and looked at several screens that lined the wall beside him, each holding something relevant to their current problems. "Lord comes back to National City just as strange portals associated with his locked up criminal friend start appearing."

"Not to mention the agents that have turned up missing," Alex added.

"What?!" Kara was surprised, she hadn't known about this.

"Yeah," J'onn rubbed his forehead. "Several agents have gone missing while out on their leisure time. We have no idea why or where their being taken. No ransom has been offered and no demands made."

"Are they alive?" Kara asked.

"We don't know." Alex put her hands on the desk and sighed. "All we can do is wait."

"Whoever took them knew about the tracking devices placed in D.E.O agents." J'onn said. "We either have a mole or, more likely, since this is common practice amongst higher functioning government bodies, the enemy was prepared for the possibility just in case. Either way, I put a restriction on all agents to keep them safe until we figure this thing out."

"So we really don't know anything?" Kara folded her arms and took a seat. "Anything new about the alien tech?"

"Managed to track down the sellers but they aren't budging on the big distributer so we're just leaning on them and hoping they crack eventually." Alex's frustration was apparent.

"Well this sucks!" Kara fumed. "There's nothing we can do about any of the stuff messing up the city right now."

"I don't know what it is but I have this feeling in my gut that something big is coming." J'onn looked at them both. "I hope I'm wrong but all the signs point to it. I need you both to be level headed and ready when the time comes, OK?"

Alex nodded and Kara firmly said, "Okay."

"For now, Supergirl, your time is your own. Alex, I feel the need to go over the base defenses and supplies. Some of us might be here for a while and I want to make sure we've got everything we need." J'onn started for the door.

"Don't worry," Alex touched her sister's shoulder. "We'll figure all this out. We always do." Then she left after J'onn.

* * *

"So the idiot really sat in there for two hours?"

"Yeah," Johnson laughed. "Two hours. Danvers lost forty bucks to me and that Harper guy."

"Wish I had of been there to get in on that po-"

A portal exploded in front of the two D.E.O agents so powerful it threw them backward in the hallway they had been walking in. Other agents immediately drew their weapons while the civilian staff started to run away.

"We've got a portal in sector two," was the only thing that Johnson was able to say before the stream of gorillas came springing through the portal. The first one through grabbed Johnson and slammed him against the wall like a fisherman dashing a fish against a rock.

By the time another in the hall shouted through his com nearly a dozen gorillas had sprung through the portal and had begun cutting down everyone they saw without regard or mercy. Their roars sent cold shivers to the bone of any man that heard them and many faltered, killed with unused weapons in their hands while others opened fire taking some of the apes down.

But the portal didn't vanish or go away and the gorillas kept coming through. The few agents in the hallway were quickly overwhelmed and the slaughter began in earnest as the gorillas began to spread throughout the hallways. Three gorillas came from the portal and took up positions to the left, right and directly in front of it. They aimed their weapons and growled fiercely.

Then Grodd leapt through and gave a roar that everyone in the D.E.O building heard.

"Kill them all!"

* * *

Red lights flickered on and off while an alarm blared loudly throughout every corner of the D.E.O headquarters. A robotic voice accompanied the ringing alarm saying 'Code Black. Code Black. All agents to response stations. All agents to response stations' over and over again. Mingled in with the alarm and warning, somewhat lower but still frightening, was the sound of screams, gunshots and thunderous roars.

The hallway was lined with the bodies of D.E.O agents, blood and the scattered large dead gorillas. "What the hell?" Alex steadied herself as she gripped her assault rifle tighter and continued to step through the carnage.

Code Black meant invasion of the headquarters but why? And who? Well, she fully suspected this had something to do with Maxwell Lord and his sudden reappearance but now wasn't the time for these thoughts. A ball of fear grew in her chest as she continued silently. She and the dozen or so agents with her were wearing the heavy assault gear the D.E.O assigned when in dangerous situations. She'd seen it save lives many times and fail many times as well.

Still, if this was Lord then why the gorillas? They were huge, armored in heavy plate that protected their vitals from bullets, and heavily armed. She didn't know what was going on but Alex wasn't about to let that ball of fear stop her. She never did.

Moments ago she'd been with J'onn J'onzz or as most knew him, Hank Henshaw Director of the D.E.O. They had just been going through the bases defenses and headed to the armory when the alarm went off. J'onn had given the order to split up, Alex with her team, Supergirl and J'onn heading straight for the source of the problem.

They'd given Alex that usual ramble about not wanting her to be near the danger and for now she consented to make sure she could gather and save as many as she could. Some of the bodies in the hallways weren't soldiers. The attackers, seemingly gorillas, were slaughtering everyone. This was a bloodbath.

"Look out"

"Ah!"

Blood-curdling screams, roars and gunshots began to go off around the corner. Alex didn't hesitate. "With me!" She rounded the corner in a few steps with her assault rifle aimed forward and for the first time ever, Alex Danvers froze in her step.

She watched a nearly seven foot gorilla lift someone from the ground and wring him like a wet towel. Blood exploded and splattered everywhere in front of the armored gorilla as it roared in victory. Four of them were in the hallway altogether and from the looks of things they had killed nearly a dozen men. Alex's momentary loss of movement passed and her eyes widened. "Open fire!"

Bullets washed over the gorillas, most of which bounced off their thick, otherworldly armor and smacked into the wall or a dead body. The lead gorilla cried out and charged forward with a mighty leap.

"Incoming!" Alex rolled to the right just as the gorilla landed where she had been and drove its spear through two men like they were paper. Alex eyes widened again and her fight or flight response began to kick in. "Aim for the exposed body parts!" She reloaded and unleashed into the gorilla's leg and knees causing blood to rush out. The armor protected their vitals but at this point wounding them was tantamount to victory.

The other agents followed orders and the lead gorilla's legs were nearly blown completely off by rapid bullet-fire by the time it fell to its back. However the other three were now charging and Alex knew they couldn't win. "Fall back! Concentrate your fire!" She began back tracking swift as she could while shooting at the lumbering beasts. They would never take the three down in time with frantic fire but maybe if they concentrated on just one at a time.

The gorilla furthest to the right fell as its legs were blown from under it. The other began taking wounds and Alex knew they would never make it.

"Grenade!"

Alex saw the small ball of death float past her shoulders and roll right to the gorillas feet. She turned and jumped as hard as she could as the hallway erupted behind her. The force threw her several feet and she landed hard on the ground, losing her rifle in flight. Her ears rang and her vision was blurry but she was alive and felt strong arms hoist her to her feet.

Her vision straightened and she saw the remains of the two gorillas spread across the hallway where they had just fought. It was like a scene from a horror movie and she struggled to keep down a sudden rising burst of vomit.

"Agent Danvers come in." J'onn came through the com.

"Go ahead…" Alex mumbled weakly. She leaned against the wall and someone handed her the rifle she had just lost. "…check your weapons and reload…"

"Alex, what happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. We're fine. First encounter with the enemy. Four of them. Nearly got us…"

"Gorillas?" J'onn's voice was tense.

"Yeah. Big armored gorillas. Any idea what's going on?"

"Not a clue," J'onn replied. "Supergirl and I are nearing the epicenter and will report what we find."

"Copy that." Alex wiped her forehead and stood up. "Mission continues, boys," she said and with a glance at the gorilla remains added, "At least we know explosives work. You four head back to the armory and gather everything you can that goes boom."

* * *

"Alex sounded rough," Kara said more to herself then J'onn.

J'onn didn't need his telepathic abilities to know she was worried. "The sooner we end this the sooner she'll be safe."

"Right," Kara agreed.

They were flying through the hallways in route to the reported epicenter of the problem. All they had found so far was similar to what Alex and others had discovered, bodies everywhere. Human and gorilla corpses throughout the base. They'd encountered a few of the attacking forces and easily took them down.

"We're here." J'onn landed and Kara followed his lead into the doorway.

"Welcome, Supergirl. Martian Manhunter. I've been expecting you…" a rough and dangerous voice came into both of their minds.

"My God." J'onn whispered, shocked to find this massive gorilla speaking to him through telepathic means.

"Grodd, actually." There was a happiness in his tone, like a feeling of accomplishment for his plan having worked.

J'onn and Kara had walked into a trap. Nearly a dozen gorillas were standing with their weapons ready and in the middle of them stood Grodd in all his glory, Solovar beside him looking equally as menacing.

"I don't know who you are but this ends now!" Kara flew off the ground a little.

"My conquest has just begun." Grodd pointed his staff forward. "Take them."

Every gorilla except Grodd and Solovar charged at the two aliens. Kara flew forward punching one in the chest while J'onn did the same in the opposite direction. He threw the gorilla into the others that were charging knocking several backward a few feet then landed and caught a spear that was aimed for his head. J'onn quickly used the spear to toss the gorilla away while Kara stood her ground and blew her wind breath at the entire line of gorilla soldiers.

They all flew backward into the walls of the room collapsing on top of each other. J'onn transformed into a large serpent and wrapped himself around the remaining gorillas giving them a tight squeeze to knock them out before returning to his normal form to stand beside Kara.

"Your men are down, Grodd." Kara folded her arms. "Call off your attack and surrender."

Grodd ignored them for a moment. "They are impressive as you said, my lord," Solovar said to Grodd.

"Yes," Grodd stood at his full height and stretched. "That's why they had to go first." He was easily four to five feet taller than both Kara and J'onn and bigger than any gorilla they'd seen or heard of on this planet.

"One last chance." Kara and J'onn readied themselves. "Surrender now and nobody else has to get hurt."

Grodd replied with a roar that shook the room before jumping and landing directly in front of them. He caught Kara with a backhand that rocked her with surprising strength. She was tossed roughly to the right and as J'onn stood in brief shock he was pummeled with a similar strike that knocked him right beside her.

Kara stood up, rubbing her stomach, "He's strong…"

"Shockingly so…" J'onn grimaced and stood. "Let's see if his mind is strong as well." J'onn exhaled and then lashed out in attempt to paralyze Grodd's mind.

"You think you can challenge me?" Grodd bellowed again, this time somehow louder than before, sending a shockwave that struck J'onn's mind by surprise.

The last Martian grabbed his head and screamed while falling to his knees. "J'onn!" Kara flew directly at Grodd with her eyes burning hot.

"Enough of this!" Grodd held the staff out and Kara flew right into it causing a black ripple to expand out. Kara groaned and fell to the ground while Grodd aimed his staff at J'onn and sent a similar black ripple at his fallen form. "Now rise."

Both Kara and J'onn immediately stood to their feet, both of their eyes had no pupils and black, their expressions blank as if they were robots. "Good," Grodd said happily before an unimaginable pain tore through his body. Grodd screamed in agony and fell to one knee, gripping his golden staff tightly in his hand so as not to fall out completely.

"Grodd!" Solovar rushed to his side.

Grodd could sense it already, the swelling of challenge rising in Solovar. To see Grodd weakened now meant Solovar might be able to challenge him for leadership and takeover. Grodd would not allow that. 'Take him…Show them...' A sweet and sultry voice whisper told him. Its words were almost hypnotizing but the lull of truth was undeniable.

Grodd erupted in a fit of rage and slapped Solovar down to the ground as he neared him, "I'm fine!" he exclaimed, lying to Solovar and the other gorillas that had stirred from their fight with the two aliens. "Never challenge me!" his muscles throbbed and he glared at all the gorillas around him with eyes ablaze as if they had issued challenge.

Inside, Grodd felt like his body was being torn apart. This had never happened before when using the gem on Gorilla World as he called it. But then, he'd only used it to turn people savage and never to bend their minds to his will. If this pain was the result he knew he wouldn't be able to do this often, if ever. Luckily he'd planned his attack well and taken out the two most powerful threats first.

Grodd turned to Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. "Go to Central City. Bring me Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow." Kara and J'onn didn't even blink before they rocketed through the roof. "Take the men and kill everyone that's left here," Grodd said over his shoulder to Solovar. "The D.E.O falls today."

* * *

Alex glanced over her shoulder at the ever growing squad of men and women with her. As they moved through the base she gathered fighting men to stay with them, sending two or three men the way they'd come to escort the non-combat personnel to safety. She had about twenty or more with her now scattered around the area. She'd run into two more groups of gorillas and thankfully never more than four or else they'd never have survived.

"What's our supply looking like?" Alex said to the agent near her.

"Low on everything, ma'am," the agent replied. "We can't-"

Several gorilla roars began sounding off down the hall in front of them. "Lock and load!" Alex checked her weapon and readied herself for whatever was coming at them. "Steady…steady…" Alex tried to sound calm.

The wall to the left exploded outward and gorillas fell over each other trying to get through while six or more came tearing down the hall in front of them. Alex felt panic. "Retreat!" she screamed. "Lay the bombs and blow the hallway!"

Everyone opened fire and began an orderly retreat. Director Henshaw ran a tight ship and made sure his personnel would never fall to ruin in a situation like this. The D.E.O agents were tough and hard but as the wave of slobbering, bloodthirsty beasts lumbered toward them many a man turned tail and ran.

"Supergirl! Director. Do you copy?!" Alex began to scream as she emptied her clip and continued retreating. The gorillas had reached the front lines and were killing men left and right. "Supergirl! Director! Do you copy!?" the radio was silent.

"Danvers we've got to get out of here! The gorillas are overrunning the place!" An agent grabbed her shoulder.

"We can't leave! We can't abandon-"

"We'll be killed!" the agent pushed Alex behind her and started shooting, barely managing to blow the leg off the gorilla that nearly killed them both. "The Director is M.I.A you've got to make the call."

Alex hesitated a moment and then said, "This is Danvers to all personnel. Initiate evacuation protocol. I repeat, initiate evacuation protocol." Her face was grim and the battle around her was silenced. "Blow the hallway."

She didn't hear the explosions, or the screams of both man and gorilla. She didn't hear the gunshots or the sounds of people and apes being crushed by stone and debris. Alex didn't feel herself running or more accurately being dragged into the secret doorways installed for emergency escapes and she honestly wouldn't remember any of it later.

Throughout the sullen silence of their escape Alex could only wonder one thing.

"Where's my sister?"


	3. The Flash I

The League: Come the Conqueror

The Flash I

* * *

"I haven't been this happy in forever," Barry Allen whispered and truly meant it.

It was a beautiful day in Central City. The skies were clear of clouds, the sun shone brightly, birds chirping mingled with the laughter of children the barking of dogs. All the sounds of life be heard along with the resonances of the bustling denizens of this city. It was most certainly a day unlike any other for the fastest man in the world.

"Yeah?" his beloved girlfriend said back to him in a breathless way.

Barry looked down at Iris and smiled, "Yeah." He leaned in and kissed her, full and unrestrained, closing his eyes and allowing the love to take him.

It was such a good feeling.

After so much suffering and loss recently Iris was overjoyed that she'd been able to bring Barry back from the brink. She had never seen him as broken as the Speed War had left him. Eobard Thawne had finally done it and broken Barry Allen, though he'd never know because it wasn't him truly that had done it but a result of his actions.

Barry had developed feelings for Patty Spivot in their short time together and all while he was dating Kara Danvers. By chance, Thawne had seen Barry and Patty together. That led to him, Zoom and Trajectory kidnapping and eventually killing her. Barry had been a wreck over the loss especially after losing his father so recently to Zoom as well. To think that he had defeated his father's killer only to have his greatest enemy bring him back for one last go.

Iris had spent a lot of time since then wondering just why Kara had chosen Barry's lowest moment to leave him high and dry. Whatever the reason Iris was grateful because it gave her the opportunity to finally make her move. Now here they were months later, happily together and having a picnic in the park.

She smiled, looking into Barry's eyes and then kissed him again.

"What?" Barry asked with a soft chuckle.

"Nothing." Iris kissed him again. "This is the happiest I've been too, Barry."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They went in for another kiss but the alert from Star Labs began to go off on both their phones. "Looks like our picnic is gonna be cut short." Barry started to get up.

"Again." Iris pouted, pretending to be hurt.

"Aw, you know I think you're cute when you pout." Barry helped Iris to her feet. "Drop you off at home before I head to work?"

Iris laughed, "Work? Is that what you're calling being the Flash now?"

"Test run." Barry stretched a little. "Not good?"

"Not good," Iris quickly replied. "And no to home. I'm going with you."

Barry quickly snatched up all of the picnic food, took it to a nearby homeless person then had Iris in his arms. "Alright." Then he was gone.

* * *

National City

The alarms had stopped ringing hours ago, turned off by one of Grodd's scientists or engineers. To the outside world the D.E.O looked peaceful and normal as usual but inside it was a scene from a nightmare. There were bodies thrown here and there and blood at nearly every corner of the facility. Gorillas moved about, some cleaning up bodies while others seemed to be taking down information and studying the building itself.

Others were assembling the parts to build a machine similar to the one that had been used to bring Grodd and the first of his army. In the central chambers Grodd stood tall looking over screens containing information of some kind. The apes were learning everything they could to further Grodd's plans of conquest.

Solovar walked up to Grodd with two soldiers trailing behind him. They all bowed before Solovar spoke, "My king," he greeted.

"What news do you bring?" Grodd demanded angrily.

"We have taken over communications and have made contact with four other bases your troops have set up," Solovar replied, seemingly unphased by Grodd's hostility. "As of last report there are nearly two hundred of our army here and ready with more still arriving."

"Good." Grodd folded his arms. "Send word to begin the attack immediately. By nightfall the aliens will have brought me the humans I need and we will have the numbers to move on Central City."

* * *

"….earlier today when Team Flash stopped an armored car robbery attempt by the supervillain team known as the Rogues. There were no casualties or property damage, Jim." A blonde woman with piercing blue eyes and pearl white teeth said.

"That's right, Edith. Ever since Central City's own, Flash, got himself two new speedsters to help in the fight, Central City has never felt safer." Jim added.

"We here at Channel 11 news want to send our special thanks to Flash, Kid Flash and Jessie Quick. Wherever you are, we are grateful for what you do." The sincerity in Edith's voice was apparent. Everyone in Central City loved Team Flash.

Jim smiled, "In other news-"

Cisco took the remote and flicked off the TV that had been blaring the latest news report in the central hub of Star Labs. "Another day another victory!" He held out his hand to high five Wells who was standing beside him. Wells just stared at him. "Harry, c'mon. Don't leave me hangin' dude." Wells begrudgingly relented and high fived Cisco. "That's what I'm talking about!"

He started toward Joe, Iris and Caitlin with hands up. "You know, Harry, since that whole Speed War ended your high fives have been getting better."

Wells rolled his eyes. "Mr. Ramon I am no more concerned with the quality of my high fives then I am with what you wash your hair with."

Cisco turned around and pointed. "Ah ha! So you're the one that's been messing with my conditioner in the showers!"

Wells glanced left and right, "I, um-"

"I leave my stuff in very specific ways and I noticed it'd been moved…" Cisco narrowed his eyes at Wells.

"Mr. Ramon if you think-"

"Hey, daddy!" Jessie skidded to a halt in the room and removed her mask, just in time to save her father from what would have been a horrible lie. "What's going on guys?"

"Cisco was accusing your father of-"

"Nothing at all, honey," Wells interrupted Caitlin and tightened his eyes at her.

Wally and Barry came in at the same time, both laughing about something. Barry went to Iris and kissed her. "Hey."

"Hey," she said back and pushed his chest. "Looking good out there, guys." Iris told her brother and Jessie.

"The training has helped," Jessie replied. "I'm glad old sourpuss decided to let me stay here for a while and learn." She hiked her thumb at her dad and giggled.

"Sourpuss?" Wells eyebrow raised while Joe laughed at him.

Jessie had only just become a speedster some months ago after being struck by residual lightning from Trajectory's death. Eobard Thawne had traveled back in time and recruited Eliza Harmon to his side before grabbing Hunter Zolomon. Harmon didn't have the natural connection to the speed force like the others, hers was obtained through use of a drug. During the events of their Speed War, Thawne had been traveling in time and providing Harmon with more of the drug to amp her speed.

Thawne had warned her that overuse could possibly kill her but in the end Harmon had given in and used it all. Her body couldn't handle the energy coursing through it and she exploded in an eruption of speed force. Wally had managed to master phasing in time to save himself and Jessie's lives from the blast but not before Jessie had been struck.

After discovering she'd been given speedster powers Jessie had pleaded and begged to be trained by Barry but Wells had refused at first. He decided to take Jessie home to their Earth to study with their technology. Barry and Joe had warned that Jessie would just go out and use her powers anyway but Wells had ignored them.

A few days later he returned to Earth-1 and relented to Jessie training. Apparently she'd been out and seen an armed robbery happening. Of course she tried to help and almost got herself shot.

Jessie was a natural learner and quickly picked up the basics of being a speedster. She was the slowest of the three but with time that could change. Her hopes were to learn everything she could and become the Flash of her Earth like Barry was for his. Lucky for them Central City offered no shortage of villains both normal and super for Jessie to train against. With her father and the rest of Team Flash always watching from Star Labs her training was coming together better than any speedsters before her.

"It's no secret you can be a bit of a sourpuss, Harry," Caitlin said in a loving way. "It's become an endearing quality of yours."

"Yeah, what would we do without ol' sourpuss, Harry?" Cisco joked.

Barry, Wally and Jessie all used their super speed to remove their costumes and return to normal clothing. "Any word from Waller?" Barry asked in regards to the recent capture of the Rogues.

"Yeah," Caitlin informed him. "They've all been picked up and moved to a secure facility."

"That's good. This is no place for them," Barry said cheerfully. The power outage that freed Thawne and other recent events had given Barry the idea that maybe the more dangerous foes should be held at a more secure facility. Plus Snart would likely find a way to break out after being in the Star Labs cells long enough anyway.

"So what's next?" Cisco asked nobody in particular.

"Anybody up for dinner? We haven't been out together in a while," Iris offered.

Everyone seemed to be nodding in agreement that food was the best course of action so Barry said, "That would be the perfect end to another perfect day."

Then the roof exploded.

Chunks of concrete flew everywhere smashing several machines and everyone scrambled for cover. It happened so quickly even the three speedsters were caught off guard. Dust and dirt had kicked up in a cloud obscuring the vision of who or what had caused the roof to cave in so Barry quickly spun his arms in circles causing wind to blow away the clouds.

"Kara? J'onn?"

Standing in the middle of the central hub were Supergirl and Martian Manhunter both looking grim and silently looking around the room.

"C'mon, Kara! You know we've got doors, man! That's gonna cost a fortune to fix!" Cisco complained while brushing dust off himself. "And what are you guys just standing there for?" he walked around the desk towards them.

"Cisco!" it was Joe that called his name, holding out a hand to stop Cisco while the other hand seemed to be reaching inside his coat for his gun.

"Something's not right." Caitlin observed. "Look at their eyes."

Barry then noticed that both Kara and J'onn eyes were clouded dark black, "Kara…what's wrong?" he began to push Iris behind him. "Are you alright?" Kara's head turned lazily in Barry's direction and her face twisted into one of pure anger. "Run. Run!" He carried Iris out of the way just as Kara unleashed her heat vision where they had just been, ripping the equipment and wall apart.

* * *

National City

"I'm tellin' ya, Mark, easiest job I've ever had!" a security guard boasted loudly on his phone with his legs kicked up onto a desk in front of him. This branch of the National Guard keeps everything so tight all I have to do is chill at the door."

He was the guard at the main entrance to a local headquarters for the National Guard. Here they housed soldiers, weapons and vehicles for both land and sea, as well as ran training and other various operations.

"Nothing ever happens!" the security guard laughed loudly. "Yeah, alright. Talk to ya' later man." He hung up the phone and sat right in his chair while he pulled up a video game on his phone.

He didn't see the portal open and the gorillas begin to pour out until it was too late. Several dozen of Grodd's armored warriors had rushed out killing the guard and destroying the post. "Entrance secure," one of the gorillas said into a communications device.

Off in the distance deeper in the base several portals began to open and close, each unleashing waves of gorillas into the base. The alarm went off and then the sounds of screaming and gunfire began. Explosions went off here and there and smoke from fires began to rise as the gorillas ran rampant through, killing everything in their path.

This was happening all over National City. Grodd had sent his soldiers to attack any operation that would put up a significant fight against his armies. The police station was being obliterated by dozens of apes while City Hall and the Coast Guard were also under siege. Within an hour Grodd's forces had decimated all major resistance in National City without many even knowing what was happening.

The smallest of his army had been instructed to arm themselves with human weaponry and whatever else they could find. From the National Guard base dozens of military grade Hummers and armored trucks began driving from the facility, all of them under control of apes. They were hanging from the sides brandishing assault rifles and RPG's while the larger bounded along beside or on top of the heavily armored vehicles.

Throughout the city a sudden appearance of apes with all manner of weapons began to be reported but when the 911 calls went in they were not answered. The few remaining police were fighting for their lives as a slobbering, growling wave of metal and hair swarmed towards them.

"Throw the damned grenade!" one cop screamed while he reloaded his weapon.

Another pulled the pin and stood up preparing to throw it but something took his head clean off and the grenade fell to the ground and rolled towards the first cop.

"No…"

The explosion destroyed every desk in the area and killed numerous officers. A huge hole was in the wall and fires burned around the room. The fire alarm went off and the sprinklers began to shoot water out to contain the fires.

The sounds of gunfire began to die down in the police station and several gorillas met up under the sprinklers. "Has this station been secured?" one demanded.

"Yes, sir."

"Send word to Grodd and begin taking over the rest of this pathetic city."

"These humans offer pitiful resistance. I was hoping for glorious battle."

"I'll settle for glorious slaughter!"

* * *

"Supergirl's trying to kill us!" Wally screamed as he rushed and changed into his Kid Flash Costume. Jessie had done the same.

"Wally, I'm scared. What do we do?" Jessie asked.

"You run!" Wells grabbed his daughter by the arm as another burst of heat vision sliced through where she and Wally were just standing.

Cisco unleashed a vibe that knocked Kara backward through the glass window behind her and into the medical area. J'onn glanced at him and Cisco's mind was melting inside head. He screamed in agony and fell to his knees before passing out completely. The distraction was enough for everyone to get from the room except Cisco and the speedsters.

Barry stood with Wally and Jessie now fully in his costume, "J'onn…" he held up his hands."…J'onn if you can hear me it's, Barry. Barry Allen from Central City. I don't know what's going on but you have to regain control of yourselves. You and Kara are attacking friends."

J'onn transformed into a massive snake and lashed out towards Barry but the speedsters easily dodged and were on the other side of the room.

"I don't think they can hear us!" Jessie was obviously frantic.

"Jessie, you and Wally get Cisco and out of here. I'll keep them distracted," Barry told them.

"No, I won't leave you Barry," Wally said firmly.

"Wally-"

A gust of powerful wind rushed up behind them and sent all three of them flying towards Martian Manhunter who shifted from snake form and returned to normal with a giant fist. He punched all three of them knocking them to the ground and out cold. Supergirl stood behind them, blank faced, looking down at Cisco.

"Get the girl." J'onn walked over and roughly picked up Cisco's body onto his shoulder then rocketed off through the hole in the roof he'd made earlier.

Kara took one more look at Barry and the other unconscious speedsters before she began using her x-ray vision to scan for Caitlin Snow. It took a moment but she located her and began flying through the walls.

* * *

"What the hell was that?!" Iris shouted as she ran as fast as possible in her heels. Caitlin, Joe and Harrison Wells were with her. They had all seen the power of Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. "Can they stop them?"

"I don't know." Joe's voice was grim. "But we've got to get out here and get help."

"Help from where?" Caitlin asked as they rounded a corner.

"The other League members!" Joe reminded them. "As soon as we stop I'm calling Oliver."

"I don't mean to be a buzz kill, Detective, but Oliver Queen is just a man with a bow. What can he do?" Wells said, ever the optimistic.

"I don't know but do you have a better plan?!" Joe asked.

"Not at the moment but with time-"

"Wait. What's that?" Joe stopped running and they began to hear rumbling sounds coming from somewhere. It sounded like it was getting closer and then Joe realized what it was, "Down!" he tackled Iris to the ground just as the wall where she was exploded outward and Kara was floating in the air.

She glanced around, spotted Caitlin and then flew down and grabbed her. Caitlin struggled but knew there was nothing she could do against Kara's Kryptonian strength, "No! No! Help me!" she screamed.

Joe reached for his gun and shot twice at Kara's head but the bullets bounced harmlessly off. Kara looked at Joe then shot heat vision along the wall above him and Iris causing them to duck. Then Kara aimed it at the roof, burning a hole through it and flew away with Caitlin in her arms.

Iris ran over to Wells and shook his body. "Harry! Harry are you alright!?"

Wells stirred and groaned, "What happened?"

Joe came over and helped him to his feet, "Supergirl took Caitlin."

"We've got to find, Barry and the others." Iris had a panicked look on her face. "They'll know what to do."

Joe and Wells agreed and the three of them shakily made their way back to the central hub, hoping that some of the destruction had left communications up in case Barry and the others weren't there. It took a minute but they arrived to find Barry, Wally and Jessie all unconscious on the floor.

"Barry!" Iris ran to him while Wells checked on Jessie and Joe knelt down next to his son. "He's alive," she told them.

"Jessie is too."

"And Wally."

"Barry wake up." Iris patted his cheek and Barry began to stir awake.

Once he was awake Barry sat up. "Where's Kara and J'onn!?"

"Don't know where, J'onn is but Kara is gone." Joe told him. Wally and Jessie were rousing back to consciousness as well.

"And she took Ms. Snow," Wells added grimly.

"Guys," Iris looked around. "Where's Cisco?"

* * *

Grodd was staring out of the main window at the D.E.O headquarters with his massive arms folded behind his back. From here he could see pillars of fires rising in the city from his army attacking. He'd received word that the target locations had been eliminated and his forces were now in possession of human weaponry now. Soon they would have the borders secured and access in and out of the city would be his. The sun was falling and night time would soon be here but the attack wouldn't stop.

Solovar approached him. "My King. Word has come of more victories."

"Tell them destroy more," Grodd said coldly over his shoulder. "I can't see enough of the fires from here."

"As you wish." Solovar turned to leave but the Martian Manhunter came crashing through the roof with Cisco on his shoulder. He dropped Cisco onto the ground and Grodd turned around slowly.

"Excellent. Where is Caitlin Snow?" he asked Martian Manhunter who pointed up. Supergirl came through the roof landing next to Martian Manhunter and dropping Caitlin Snow down.

"Let me go!" she shrieked again before landing roughly on her bottom.

"Hello, Caitlin. It's been a long time."

Caitlin then noticed Grodd and started to crawl away fear blending with confusion took over, "G-G-Grodd…? How?"

"How indeed, Caitlin." He walked towards them and Caitlin noticed that he was somehow even bigger and menacing then she remembered. "You and the Flash thought you were sending me somewhere I couldn't cause any more trouble. Little did you know you were putting me just where I needed to be."

"Cisco!" Caitlin saw him lying on the floor. "Cisco, wake up! What have you done to him?"

"He'll regain consciousness soon," the Martian Manhunter said.

Caitlin looked fearfully at Martian Manhunter and Supergirl, both standing there like robots, unmoving and blinking. "Kara! J'onn! Please! What has Grodd done to you?!"

"Something you could never understand." Grodd leaned down, looming frighteningly over Caitlin. "Be concerned with yourself. When Cisco wakes the two of you will begin your work."

"W-wh-what do you want from us?" Caitlin cowered from Grodd's face being so close.

"You're going to build me what I need to bring the full might of my armies to this world." Grodd stood back upright. "Take them to their work area, I'd like to finish watching the destruction of National City in peace."

Supergirl and Martian Manhunter grabbed Cisco and Caitlin then carried them off leaving Grodd and Solovar alone to watch from the clear glass. After a time another ape rushed up to them bowing to one knee.

"My king." The ape was breathless having been running. "More of your army is arriving as we speak. Seems they've managed to get more time out of the power source."

"Things are progressing smoothly." Grodd complimented himself. "Have all new arrivals begin heading to Central City, Solovar will lead the initial assault there. We will reinforce them when the humans have built the stabilization machine."

Solovar pounded his fist on his chest. "It would be an honor, my king," Grodd said nothing else so Solovar and the others there left to follow their orders. Grodd just stood there staring out at the smoke and spotted explosions he could see.

* * *

"Miss Grant you should probably get away from the windows!" Jimmy shouted at his boss who was staring out at the fighting going on beneath them.

"I can't look away, James," Cat said firmly. "This is insanity. An army of gorillas attacking the city and Supergirl is nowhere to be found."

Jimmy and Winn looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Where is Kara and is she alright? There was no way she or anyone at the D.E.O would be missing at a time like this unless something terrible had happened.

"I think, James is right, Miss Grant," Winn added his shaky voice to the plea. "We should be trying to get to safety. All the emergency lines are down and the televisions say to stay inside."

"Do you always do what you're told, Winslow?" Cat teased, seemingly unphased by the army of hairy beasts attacking their city. "Supergirl will come and everything will be alright. And besides, they're only attacking the ground level for now so we should be safe up here."

Behind them the doors to Cat Grant's private elevator opened and a few D.E.O agents hurried in making a few people scream.

"What the hell is this?! Shouldn't you be out there fighting those monkeys!?" Cat Grant shouted.

"Shut the hell up!" one of the D.E.O agents took off a helmet revealing Alex Danvers.

"Alex!" Jimmy and Winn both ran up to her and embraced her.

"We heard about the attack and we didn't know if you or, J'onn or Ka- I mean Supergirl were alright." Jimmy caught himself before saying Supergirl's real name. "Are you guys alright."

"No." Alex said firmly, her face was ragged and lined with marks of crying. She looked tired but determined as ever. "I don't have time for pleasantries, Winn we need your help."

"Me? Why?"

"We were tracking your algorithm you created to track the portals." Alex told him.

"Y-you were what?!" Winn looked scared at James.

"Winn, listen to me. Supergirl and Martian Manhunter have been compromised and the gorillas have taken over the D.E.O. National City needs you." Alex touched his shoulder and Winn felt like he was going to faint.

* * *

"That was probably the best meal I've ever eaten." Roy wiped his mouth and tossed the fluffy white napkin down onto the table. Roy had never even heard of the high-end restaurant they were in. He'd been around plenty of wealthy people in his life. Thea, Oliver - Felicity was quite well off while running Palmer Tech and Ray Palmer himself was a brilliant man. However, none of them used their wealth and power like Lord did. It wasn't something that Roy would like to do every day but it was a nice change of pace. And much needed after so much stress and trouble.

Maxwell Lord waved his hand to summon the waiter. "Our compliments to the chef," he smiled and handed the young man some money. "Check please as well."

"So this is how you live every day?" Roy asked.

"Hardly," Lord snorted. "I never have the time. I was away from National City for a long time and I'll likely be leaving again soon."

"Well I appreciate the hospitality but I think I'm gonna get back on the road tomorrow." Roy leaned back and rubbed his belly a bit. "More to see and more to do."

The waiter brought the check and Lord paid then rose from his seat leaving a sizeable tip on the table. "Understandable. See the world while you're young."

"You don't look that old."

"I just age well." Lord grinned. "Let's get out of here. My driver will take you were ever you want."

They left the restaurant and walked outside where Lord's sleek black car and chauffeur were waiting for them. The man whose name Roy still didn't know went to open the door for them and a gorilla landed on top of the car smashing it inward.

Roy and Lord both jumped backward but the gorilla picked the driver up by his head and flung him off into the distance giving a menacing roar. The beast's call was picked up and Roy saw that other gorillas were swarming the end of the street.

"Not again…" Lord mumbled.

"Run!" he pushed Lord's shoulder and they took off up the street, cutting left into the first alley they saw but behind them the first gorilla was giving chase. "Keep running!" Roy screamed and started looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. They could never hope to outrun it or beat it but maybe injure it.

The gorilla caught up to them just as Roy spotted and dived on a piece of rebar lying in a pool of what he hoped wasn't piss beside a pile of trash. The ape grabbed his leg and lifted him up toward its face opening its maw to roar again but Roy drove the rebar through its eyeball. He was immediately dropped but nimbly flipped and landed on his feet.

'I hope this works!' Roy thought and punched the gorilla between its exposed legs as hard as he could. To his surprise and relief the gorilla immediately clenched between its legs and whimpered. "Let's go!" they quickly ran deeper into the alley and away from the gorilla knowing it wouldn't be long before it recovered and killed them.

After running three or more blocks they ducked inside a parking structure to catch their breath. "You handled yourself well out there for a one-armed man." Lord's chest heaved in-between words.

"Yeah…" Roy was almost dying of thirst.

"Let's take one of these cars-

"No." Roy immediately shut that down. "They've been passing by in Humvees and armored trucks. These gorillas are swarming the streets and if we're in a car we're gonna be easy to spot. We've got to get off the streets and fast. We need somewhere safe."

"My building." Lord said. "I can put it in lockdown mode and it'll be safe. Plus my lab is there. Maybe we can figure out a way to stop this."

"Whatever this is. How far is that from here?" Roy asked.

"About fifteen or so minutes on foot," Lord guessed, silently thanking every god that he'd decided to stay local.

Roy stood up. "Ready?" Lord nodded, "Let's go."

They left the garage carefully and looked in every direction before moving. The alley was still but the streets were alive with the sounds of death and destruction. Roy swallowed the urge to rush out and save everyone and ignored the phantom hand feeling. He stepped lightly as possible toward the street and looked out.

It was madness.

Gorillas firing weapons, slashing through cars and carrying people off or killing them. The police, D.E.O, army, and Supergirl seemed to be nowhere in sight. "This…this is insane…"

Cars and buildings were burning, people were running, apes were driving and shooting RPG's, throwing grenades and firing shots into the air. At first Roy thought that it was random slaughter but he noticed that the apes seemed to be corralling the humans somewhere. Wherever they were going would have to wait because there was nothing the two of them could do for them now.

Roy waited a moment and then signaled for Lord to follow and they rushed out into the street quickly crossing it and making it into the next alleyway. "We should be able to make it through mostly back alleys." Lord said as he remembered the layout of downtown a little.

"Good because we won't last a minute out there on the street." Roy started jogging.

They continued the pace and maneuvering until they finally reached where they needed to be. They had managed to avoid detection thanks to Roy's training from Oliver taking over. Being stealthy was a part of Team Arrow's everyday life.

Lord pressed on a panel that revealed a hand scanner. He placed his hand on it and a doorway slid open allowing them entry. "Fancy," Roy commented as they entered and the door closed behind them.

It was dark for a moment then lights began to turn on showing that they were in a hallway. Sleek in its design but just a hallway that Lord led Roy through. A brief walk and a few corners and Lord said, "Welcome to my lab," as he accessed another panel and opened the door.

Inside was a workshop unlike anything Roy had ever seen before. It put the Arrow cave, as Cisco called it, to shame. Areas for science, machinery and metal work and other numerous things. It was massive in size and nobody else was in here at all.

Lord went to a computer and began typing in several codes. "Gonna lock down the building." He finished his work quickly. "That should keep us safe for a while and give us time to figure out what the hell is going on." He typed more and pulled up the latest news reports online.

Cellphone footage, professional news reports and web articles were already springing up everywhere. They went through some briefly, discovering everything that had taken place so far. "My god…" Lord sat down. "…the gorillas have nearly taken over the city…"

"Where's Supergirl and the Martian dude? This is…this can't be happening. They'll send the army or something." Roy couldn't believe his eyes.

"I don't know if the army is ready for this kind of warfare," Lord admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't protect ourselves and try."

"Right," Roy agreed.

"You moved like a man with some training so I can only imagine what you'd do with two arms."

"Yeah well that ain't an option anymore." Roy looked at his stump. "And now isn't the time-"

"I think I can help you with that problem actually." Lord got up and walked over to another side of the lab. It had dozens of crates and boxes of various sizes piled up in a corner area.

Roy followed, curious about what was going on, "And how exactly can you do that?"

"Got hired to work on some prototype prosthetics for the military several years ago. The project ended up falling through but I kept some stuff that had potential." Lord dug around for a bit, sliding crates and boxes out of the way. "Here it is!" he reached down and opened the long box revealing a rough but functional looking black metallic arm.

"Wow…" Roy whispered.

"It's rough now and will need refitting to your size but with some work it could really be something." Lord lifted it out of the box and held it. "Attaching it will be painful of course. Very, very painful."

Roy looked at the arm and thought about all those people out there suffering. He thought about what would Oliver do then the reasons he lost his arm in the first place and if he regretted it. Then he made up his mind and cast aside any doubt.

"Alright let's do this."


	4. The Flash II

The League: Come the Conqueror

The Flash II

* * *

Somewhere outside National City

"The humans are losing to apes?" Non folded his arms with a disappointed look on his face. "This proves even more why they need us." He shook his head a little and looked to his wife who was staring intensely at their monitors. "What is it?"

"These are no ordinary apes," Astra replied without looking away.

"Your niece or the martian haven't shown up yet." Non motioned to the screen, "Something is very wrong. We should have gone ahead with myriad-"

"This isn't about myriad!" Astra snapped, finally looking at her husband with intensity in her eyes. She moved around and pressing buttons to bring up visuals.

Non watched as he was shown footage of Supergirl and Martian Manhunter seemingly flying through the roof of Star Labs and then out again with two hostages. Non looked at Astra, "You have been watching your niece this entire time?"

"Irrelevant," Astra dismissed him, unwilling to reveal that the footage had been sent to her through anonymous sources. She suspected it had come from the individuals that had appeared in their headquarters some time ago but had no actual proof. "Something happened when the D.E.O was attacked and during that time she and the Martian have fallen under the control of whoever is leading this invasion."

"Meaning they are working for them now." Non began to understand and rubbed his chin. Taking over the humans with myriad would have been simple leaving them with Kara and the Martian to deal with. However, with the apes slaughtering and capturing humans in droves and controlling a Kryptonian and Martian, Astra and Non now would have to fight an army of apes, beings as strong as themselves and without the humans myriad would have provided them. "What do you propose?" he asked.

Astra was silent for a bit, contemplating their next move. "We can't risk both of us coming in contact with whatever is able to control Kara and the Martian so I'll go alone."

"To do what?" Non clearly disapproved of this plan but held his tongue on the subject.

"The humans they took from Star Labs," Astra tapped on a few controls bringing up pictures as well as scattered information about Cisco and Caitlin.. "Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow. They're the brains behind the Flash in Central City." Once having settled on the path to take over this world, Astra and Non and begun to monitor every possible threat on the planet. "The apes' leader took them for a reason and they have been close to Kara since whatever happened to her. I'm going to free them and find out what they know."

"They will be heavily guarded," Non pointed out.

"Nothing I can't handle." Astra smirked. "I need you here in case anything happens. You'll be able to see and can come to me or continue on our work if the worst were to happen."

"Are you sure about this?"

Astra nodded her head, "Yes. It's what helps us get to our goal easier. We must act swiftly though, the apes have already begun laying siege to Central City."

Non kissed her forehead, "Then let us see this through."

* * *

Outskirts of Central City

The roads were empty and eerily silent. There were no cars driving in or out of the city nor were their pedestrians of any kind visible for miles. Instead there were military figures and vehicles as far as the eye could see. Camouflaged men and women of the National Guard were running around the area, some watching, some building and others monitoring screens inside of field headquarters covered by tents and tarps of various sizes. A barricade had been hastily thrown up with numerous heavily armed soldiers patrolling and watching for any sign of the enemy.

The apes.

Everyone in Central City had seen it from the homeless men who watched on televisions they could see through storefronts or homes they passed, to the elite of the socialites that sat fearfully in their towers and mansions. Every single one of them had seen the destruction and death being sown in National City by this strange army of mutated apes. The news had been nonstop since the moment the story had broken and the fear had been set deeply into the hearts and minds of everyone. At first it had seemed like a nightmare to most, something unreal and distant that could never actually cause them harm.

Then the warnings had started.

At first it was simply messages interrupting various television programs that told of possible danger and the need to remain safe and in doors. After a while the footage from people on the road began to flood online. The footage of apes in vehicles terrorizing and killing all along the highways and interstates just as they had done in National City. Terrorizing along the routes that led to Central City.

Panic had set in then.

It started off small at first with some people attempting to flee the city even before any evacuation warnings had been issued. Traffic had piled up to the point that nobody was moving. From there the looters and criminals had come out of the cracks and crevices, scum always ready to take advantage of chaos and misery. The Central City Police had then been tasked with damage control and maintaining balance and order amongst the populace while the National Guard had secretly been scrambled and sent to set a defensive perimeter around the city.

There was no indication about when the army or anyone else would arrive so the National Guard had been tasked with completing the defensive measures with as little fuss as possible. While the police struggled against raiding and pillaging and the National Guard prepared themselves for a fight unlike any other, the younger Flashes of Central City did what they could to quell the rampant crimes that had begun. Kid Flash and Jessie Quick had been seen all over the city stopping multiple crimes and attempting to restore some semblance of order to the chaotic situation. Many had posed the question where was the Flash but being saved was being saved and they were grateful for the help if the younger Flashes.

Outside the city a Sergeant sat under his hastily thrown together command tent several feet away from the main road. He was digging through papers and occasionally dealing with subordinates that came with the latest updates or requests. At the moment he was pouring over reports from the scouts he'd sent out which were mostly reports of animals and nothing.

"Sir!"A soldier came running in. "Sergeant Nance!"

He looked up from his papers, "Yes?"

"Sir, the enemy has been spotted! Coming right at us at full speed!"

Sergeant Nance tossed down his papers and jogged from the tent. "To your stations!" he cried out. "This is not a drill! Prepare for battle! Those apes will not get into our city!"

Any soldier that wasn't already on guard or patrolling began to run at full speed towards their assigned positions. Weaponry was grabbed and gear was tossed on as over the horizon a cloud of dust could be seen growing larger and larger. Fear set into the hearts of some as they thought back to the footage of the brutal attacks on National City. Bodies torn asunder by the apes' bare hands, impaled on massive spears and mutilated in numerous other ways. Many wondered if the army was taking so long to respond out of fear.

A soldier with a scope peered through and scanned the horizon catching a glimpse of the first signs of the enemy. His eyes widened and he dropped his rifle and left his post shouting, "Sergeant! Sergeant!" as he ran.

By the time he found Sergeant Nance he was completely out of breath, "What is it soldier?" Nance looked stern but his face held a faint hint of worry. "What's going on?"

"Th-the enemy..." he struggled to catch his breath. "The enemy! They have civilians strapped to the fronts of their vehicles!"

"What?!" Sergeant Nance looked at his men's front line with a slightly open mouth. "Fucking monsters..."

"What do we do, sir? If we attack we'll be killing innocents," a soldier nearby said.

Sergeant Nance was silent. If they attacked they'd be killing innocents but if they didn't the apes would likely slaughter them all and then kill untold numbers of civilians in Central City. Was the sacrifice of the few worth it to save the lives of the many? He took a moment to look at the soldiers around him, all awaiting orders and not a few with fear in their eyes. None of them wanted to attack civilians.

Nance swallowed his fear and steeled his resolve, the men needed to see him strong. "If those bastards get past us more civilians than any of us care to think about will die! We've all seen what they can do. We have to stop them here!" Nance saw looks of approval, disgust and worry all around. "To your stations, men. Fire when ready."

* * *

Star Labs

"I have a newfound respect for everything that Cisco and Caitlin do," Barry said, exasperated with his struggle to figure out what was going on through science. Even with the help of Wells and Iris they had found nothing useful yet.

Joe was out in the field with his fellow police officers, where Barry should be, but Joe was covering for him to allow for the Flash to do more important work. He'd been scouring the web for any sort of information that would help turn the tide on the battle the knew was heading directly for their city as well as trying to find his lost friends. So far nothing had come up.

"Barry..." Iris whispered and pointed to the muted television monitor. Wells reached and used the remote to turn the volume up so they could hear.

A news team was in a helicopter flying over what looked like the National Guard defensive line around Central City. "...we've received word that the apes had civilians tied to their vehicles. Possibly hostages but we aren't sure at the moment. Whether it was true or not right now all we can see is intense shooting from both sides. The National Guard managed to stop the apes' charge and it looks like they are holding their ground well for the time being but the question must be asked, if there were civilians, who gave the order to attack and was it the right thing to do? I- wait a minute..." the reporter touched her earpiece for a moment. "...alright, I'm being told we have to evacuate the airspace immediately as there is a threat of surface to air projectiles-"

the helicopter was suddenly struck by the very thing she had just been warned against and began to tumble out of control. "We're going down! We're going down! Mayday! Mayday!" the reporter and cameraman were screaming at the top of their lungs while the pilot struggled to regain control as they careened uncontrollably towards the ground.

"Barry!" Iris started to scream but by the time she finished the words Barry had sped from the room so fast bits of flame dotted his trail.

* * *

"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

The news helicopter was mere seconds from hitting the ground and the reporter shut her eyes tightly preparing for her final moments on this Earth. She thought about her family and her friends, her children, her career and even her cute little dog she'd just gotten for her birthday.

"I don't want to die!" she screamed once more as the helicopter came to a sudden and jerked halt. She fearfully opened her eyes to see that they had been stopped by two small cyclones of wind beneath them. "The Flash?" she whispered, having seen him use this maneuver several times in the past years of his hero work.

Barry was beneath the helicopter turning his arms furiously to slow the descent of the helicopter and stop it from crashing. To lower it safely he rotated his arms slower a little at a time so that it came just above his head, a distance safe enough for it to fall without causing any injury. He stepped aside and let it tumble the last few feet with a loud clang but he knew that everyone inside was alright.

Without waiting Barry vanished, heading straight for the apes line of defense. He rushed through the shooting, easily dodging all of the bullets, grenades and a few RPG's as well then quickly began to disassemble to weapons in the first line of apes hands.

He had managed to work his magic on several before something powerful slammed into him sending a cold shock wave through his body. He slammed into a door of a Humvee and tried to get to his feet but felt a giant heavy foot slam into his chest.

"The Flash..." a deep and rumbling voice said. If Grodd was the biggest gorilla that Barry had ever seen this massive silverfish white beast before him was a close second. "King Grodd said you'd show up. "

"Gr-Grodd...?" Everything suddenly made sense to Barry and he began to worry for the lives of his friends that he'd seen taken. Grodd had somehow amassed an army and found his way back to this earth but how and why would he take Caitlin and Cisco? And how had he become so powerful he'd been able to control Kara and J'onn?

"We were more than prepared for Central City's hero just as we were for the ones in National City." The armor clad gorilla teased and pressed down on Barry's chest making Barry scream in agony.

It seemed like he was about to have his chest crushed beneath the weight of this monster when the familiar sound of Wells' gun rang out and the pressure was lifted. He opened his eyes to see Wally and Jessie standing with two guns.

"Bet you weren't prepared for that!" Wally opened fire along with Jessie forcing the apes to take cover for a brief moment.

The distraction from the Flashes caused Grodd's army to stop focusing fire on the National Guard which in turn left them vulnerable and several of them were cut down by shots from across the battlefield.

"Get up, Barry..." Jessie zoomed up to Barry and extended a hand that he shakily took. If not for his meta-human healing he'd likely be unable to move. The pain in his body was near unbearable.

"We've got to go...they have speedster weapons..." he managed to croak. "...have to regroup..."

Wally got the hint and began running in a circle kicking up as must dust as possible clouding the vision of the apes before the three speedsters dashed away.

The dust cleared and the shooting between the apes and the human military forces continued. Several of the gorillas moved and helped the silver one to its feet. "The Flash has allies we didn't know about," he grumbled.

"What will we do now, Commander Solovar?"

"Press the attack. The human hostage plan did not stop their attack so we will not stop ours. Kill them all. I want this resistance quelled in one hour!" Solovar growled before picking up a nearby RPG and shooting forward.

* * *

National City

"And he said all that while I was knocked out?"

Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow stood together inside what they suspected was the bottom most portion of the D.E.O headquarters. The only reason they knew that they were in the D.E.O was because Caitlin had been awake upon arrival and had seen markings in the building when they were literally carried to their work area.

Of Grodd neither had seen or heard anything else. Instead, Kara and J'onn had flung them into this room like dolls where they had been greeted by a smaller gorilla dressed like a scientist. After taking some time to explain what exactly was needed from them the gorilla had left them under the guard of two giant armored behemoths that did nothing but stare and snarl. Since then they had started to build the machinery that Grodd had demanded.

"Yes, Cisco. Whatever it is he has us building is supposedly to help him bring more of whatever army he has here," Caitlin replied.

Cisco turned a wrench absently while staring off, "Okay. Lets try to put the puzzle together. Last time we saw Grodd was when we sent him packing to another Earth."

"Right," Caitlin agreed.

"You kind of betrayed him so that explains his possible anger at you and Barry."

"Right," Caitlin agreed again.

"And Eobard Thawne basically tortured and created the guy so that explains his anger at humans in general."

"Yeah, but how did he get so powerful? Where did he get this army? And how is he controlling Kara and J'onn, two of the strongest beings on this planet?" Caitlin posed.

"The first and third I have no idea but the second I have a hunch." Cisco offered. "When we thought we sent him to a peaceful place what if it was a world of gorillas?"

"Is that even possible?" Caitlin made a face.

"We've seen other Earths, aliens, time traveling speedsters and we are on a first name basis with the Green Arrow. Is a literal planet of the apes so far fetched?"

Caitlin mulled over Cisco's words. "Fair enough. So lets say, Grodd ends up on this other Earth that still doesn't explain his massive increase in size and his ability to control Kara and J'onn. You didn't see him, Cisco but I did. He's even more terrifying than before."

"As if a giant super strong, psychic gorilla needed a power boost." Cisco rolled his eyes. "I can't explain that but once we're out of here we are definitely going to find out."

"What you will do is shut up and work faster," a familiar voice spoke from the air. The doorway opened and Grodd stepped inside the room. The two guards immediately bent the knee until he walked passed them and came towering over Cisco and Caitlin.

Cisco's eyes widened as Grodd lumbered over to him decked out in his golden crown with staff. He was easily four or more feet taller and wider than the last time they'd seen him. His body seemed to radiate power and control that only added to his menacing look. "Holy moley..." Cisco whispered.

Grodd glared at them both for a moment, not saying anything,then he lashed out and hit their minds with his own powers causing them to scream. His attack was brief but the pain felt so much longer. Caitlin had fallen to the ground while Cisco was half laid across the machine parts he'd been working on.

"I came as a warning. Finish what I need before I return or you will die here in the most excruciating ways imaginable." Without another word he turned and left the room, meeting back with a few gorillas he'd left standing in the hall. "I want them guarded at all times while I'm away."

"Away, my King?" the subordinate looked confused.

"The Flash has shown himself and the siege has begun. When the machine is finished bring my armies through and send them to me. I depart for Central City immediately."

* * *

A.R.G.U.S

"I want everything we have on the situation in National City and I want it two days ago, dammit!"

Amanda Waller, director of the Advanced Research Group United Support, slammed her door heavily and nearly dived into her chair pulling up a screen and going to work on the keys. Furiously tapping away with an intense look on her face. What was she going to do? National City had fallen not long ago and her latest report said that Supergirl and Martian Manhunter had been compromised. She'd scoffed at that information thinking to herself that aliens could never be trusted no matter how much good they did. For all she knew this army of jacked up monkeys was their fault.

And now what could she do? Task Force X wasn't trained to take down the super powered aliens let alone an invading army. She'd just begun to work more closely with Director Henshaw of the D.E.O but there had been no contract since the fall of National City and she suspected that somehow the invasionary forces had known who, what and where to hit that would eliminate the greatest resistances. That meant either the D.E.O had a security breach or the enemy had spent a lot of time and resources studying them before this invasion even began.

Few things angered Waller and not having information was one of them. She was contemplating sending Flagg and a Task Force X team into National City for recon but the possibility of them being caught was too high. She instead opted to having equipment moved from their main base here to several secret locations she kept hidden throughout the country. If the enemy knew of the D.E.O and the threat they possessed it made sense to her to prepare for a possible invasion of their Headquarters as well.

Guards had been doubled and nearly all the employees at her disposal had been called in regardless of overtime or need for time off. They were in a state of crisis and that justified everyone, including herself, getting little to no rest and focusing only on the task at hand.

A knock on her door made Waller take her eyes from the screen, "Come in," she said after closing several screens.

It was Lyla Diggle, her second-in-command at A.G.U.S. Along with Justin Lowe she was one of the few that Waller trusted fully, though she'd never openly admit that to anyone. It also helped that Lyla was married to John Diggle aka Spartan, the second to Oliver Queen's Green Arrow in Star City. Through them keeping an eye on the vigilante problem in Star City was made easier. "Yes, Mrs. Diggle?"

"The gorillas have begun laying siege to Central City," Lyla closed the door and sat down across from Waller.

"The Flash?" Waller raised an eyebrow.

"Showed up briefly but was taken down by some kind of weapon. His trainees showed up and they managed to escape. That's all we know for now. Latest report is that the National Guard are losing the fight and the gorillas will be in Central City within a few hours."

"Damn..." Whoever was leading this invasion was a person of extremely high intelligence, skill and resources. "Anything else?"

"No, ma'am. But..." Lyla hesitated.

"What is it?" Waller demanded, not having the time for beating around the bush and intriguing conversation.

"I think we should send in a Task Force X team to help somewhere," Lyla admitted. "Send in ground troops to reinforce the National Guard. We have the numbers and Santa Prisca proved our soldiers can be effective. If Central City falls then-"

"No," Waller interrupted Lyla.

"But...why not?" Lyla was shocked.

"The risk of Task Force X being captured is too great and I need every available A.R.G.U.S soldier working on moving out of here and guarding the transports. I am considering sending in a squadron of troops but nothing beyond that."

"But ma'am-"

"Enough, Mrs Diggle. Our world is being invaded by man-like apes with an amazing ability at war. I don't have time for this. Please excuse me." Waller didn't even wait for Lyla to leave before opening up her work and going back to it.

Lyla stood there for a brief moment letting her hatred of this woman smolder a bit before making up her mind.

She left the room without another word and walked out into the hall. The entire base was alive with troops running around moving this or that, collecting and delivery data and information and rushing to meet the deadlines they'd been given to complete their tasks. She walked passed them, saluting and greeting but really being detached from the entire scenario.

As soon as she'd been informed of the attack on National City and the army of invaders moving towards Central City she knew one thing, her husband would soon be knee deep in the fight. She had been telling some of the truth to Waller but really she wanted to send in Task Force X to protect her husband. The current members had formed a bond with Diggle on Santa Prisca and she knew she could count on them to keep him safe as possible in these uncertain times.

Waller's only concern was keeping her secrets secret and protecting her own interests. The world could burn down for all she cared as long as A.R.G.U.S was out of the fires range. Waller wouldn't stop her though, this was an endgame scenario and everything had to be laid on the line. The apes were growing in power every minute that they waited and the armed forces had yet to respond to anything. She had to do what she knew was necessary to protect not only her husband and family but her world.

Lyla made her way to her quarters and closed the door behind her before going into a drawer and lifting out a small remote control of some kind. She hesitated a moment and then left the room heading directly for the detention area.

None challenged her as she walked in and none would. While Waller sat on her high horse lording above everyone Lyla spent time getting to know her fellow A.R.G.U.S workers and forming bonds with them. Unbeknownst to Waller, Lyla had secretly been uniting agents under her for years now forming her own band of loyalists among Waller's regime. Employees of various A.R.G.U.S fields that were sick of Waller in one form or another and wanted new leadership.

At this moment two of those loyalists were watching over the heavily locked down members of Task Force X.

She approached the entrance and received salutes from both guards at the door. "It's time. Watch the door for me," she whispered as she passed them and went into the doorway.

A long hall lined with doors on both sides was before her, each door being a cell that housed some of the most dangerous criminals on this planet. Lyla went to the first door and unlocked it then quickly went across from that door and unlocked another then stepped back and let the inhabitants out.

It took a moment, each one hesitant about the situation. Life in A.R.G.U.S was scheduled down to the T and this was something irregular. The first door pushed aside and out walked Floyd Lawton while Helena Bertinelli came from the second.

"Deadshot, Huntress...I need your help," Lyla immediately said.

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't a Waller sanctioned mission." Lawton grinned a little.

"It isn't and if she finds out what I'm doing here I'll be court martialed or worse," Lyla admitted.

"Why should we help you?" Bertinelli folded her arms and leaned back against the wall still deciding if going back in her cell was the smarter option.

"Because you both owe my husband and I need you to make sure he's safe." Lyla pointed a finger. "If not for him I doubt either of you would have made it off Santa Prisca."

"To be fair, Mrs. Diggle, I think the same could be said for him as well. We did save his life once or twice too." Lawton shrugged.

"True," Lyla agreed.

"So again," Bertinelli repeated. "Why should we help you?"

"Better yet, how can we?" Lawton tapped on his head. "Bombs remember?

Lyla walked directly to Floyd Lawton and pressed a button on the remote she'd taken from her room. There was a loud humming sound and Lawton growled in pain and gripped his temples barely able to stand. She did the same to Bertinelli and after a moment both of them were standing normally wondering what had just happened.

"I've destroyed the bombs in your heads. You're free. Not even Waller can reactivate them," Lyla told them. "I will help you both escape the base in return for this and your freedom you do one last mission for me."

Lawton laughed and looked at Bertinelli who nodded once, "Protect John Diggle?" he folded his arms. "Alright. We're in."

* * *

Star Labs

"Any word from dad?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, he just called to say he's fine. Still running damage control around the city with the CCPD. He said the National Guard is being pushed back though and he doesn't know how much longer they can hold out." Iris informed everyone. This made everyone in the room feel a bit more downtrodden.

Barry was standing in the middle of the control room, mask off and hands on hips, a look of exasperation and worry on his face. "I thought I could at least dismantle their weapons but whatever that was the apes shot me with was made for speedsters."

"This is bad, Barry," Iris said.

"I know. They had something to take over Kara and J'onn and they have anti-speedster weapons. The only thing that makes sense in my head is Grodd is somehow leading this invasion and he's been preparing for this since we sent him away." Barry paced around while Wally and Jessie sat in silence near Wells.

"I think either the use of the weapon is limited or they don't have many of them or else why not use it on Wallace and my daughter when they arrived to help you?" Wells asked.

"True," Jessie agreed. "So maybe we can work around this?"

"Even if we do I'm not sure if the three of us can stop an entire army of murder monkeys." Barry kicked his foot and sat down, putting his hand in his head.

"Seems like we arrived just in time then."

Barry, Wally, Jessie, Iris and Wells immediately went on the defensive only to turn around and be greeted by a joyous sight.

Oliver Queen stood in the doorway with his arms folded. Behind him stood Spartan, Speedy, both Black and White Canary, Vixen, Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, "The League is here to help."


	5. Green Arrow I

The League: Come the Conqueror

Green Arrow I

* * *

"I'm not sure what's happening but it seems like something big is going on," Caitlin whispered to Cisco while she pretended to be working.

It had been a while now since they'd begun working on the machine Grodd needed to bring his true army to this Earth. From their best guesses the work was nearing completion so they had begun to work slower whenever they could in hopes that rescue would come for them soon. Grodd had not returned to check on them and since his last visit it seemed as though the base itself was in some sort of commotion. Apes came and went at a higher frequency and each with obvious urgency to their speech and movements.

From what little conversation they were able to hear it seemed that Grodd had departed and taken a sizable force with him, heading for Central City. Their home. And there was nothing either of them could do about it at the moment. They'd heard spotted conversation of Grodd's army breaking through the defensive barriers set up.

"If we're going to make an escape we have to do it now, Caitlin," Cisco urged. Ever since they'd discovered Grodd's departure Cisco had been struggling to convince Caitlin that they should try to get out of here. "With my vibes and your ice powers we can make a break for it."

"We can't use our powers, Cisco. Every time I do you know I get closer to becoming Killer Frost." Caitlin was reluctant to use her powers even if she could. The room they were working in had some sort of field that seemed to affect the use of their abilities. "And we don't know if this dampening field is all over or just in this room." Whatever Grodd may be a fool was not on that list.

"I doubt Grodd had the time to refit the entire D.E.O with a power dampening field," Cisco half-shouted half-whispered.

"Shut up and work!" one of the large gorillas that was guarding them bellowed from the door. Beside him his partner grunted and glared with intense hatred at the two of them.

Cisco and Caitlin fell silent for a while, pretending to screw something here or checking a screen there. After a few moments the gorillas gaze fell onto other things. Cisco made his way closer to Caitlin, "If we finish this machine they will kill us and Grodd will have an army to take over the world." Caitlin barely looked up and said nothing. "Caitlin, I know you're scared. I am too. But this is bigger then us. The world, our world is at stake. I'd rather have to deal with Killer Frost then an army led by that 'roided out beast Grodd any day."

Caitlin looked up at him, "Cisco...I..."

"We can do this." He reached out and squeezed her hand. "We can figure this out. Together. Like we always do." A small smile spread across her lips and she nodded her head with determination in her eyes. "Finally. That's the look I've been wanting to see."

"So what now?"

"Well," Cisco pretended to stretch and looked around the room. "Now we find out which one of these machines is controlling whatever is killing off our powers. Then we bust out of this joint."

* * *

"Alex, I don't understand." Winn looked nervously around with eyes wide, trying his best to stay calm but generally failing in his attempt. Here he was, a computer guy, a hacker on a good day, knee deep in guts and body parts and destruction. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"

At the moment he was following Alex and almost half dozen heavily armed D.E.O agents all of whom looked tired beyond reason but ready for action. Alex had insisted that Winn leave with them at once even though the streets of National City had been chaos at the time. Both Miss Grant and Jimmy Olsen had insisted on coming along but Alex immediately ordered them otherwise, saying that they couldn't guarantee their safety. This of course didn't help Winn feel any safer but being told he was needed to save not only the city but Supergirl and J'onn gave him a little strength to push past his justified fears.

The battle within National City had calmed down some since a heavy portion of the apes had apparently left for Central City. Alex and the agents had a connection to news stations through their feeds and were able to stay somewhat up to date on the current happenings around them. Without that small bit of information they would be completely in the dark and wandering blindly. There were still patrols they needed to avoid but so far they had gone undetected and managed to stay hidden when they needed to.

They had been moving from one safe position to the next slowly making their way to a supposed D.E.O safe house that Alex hoped was still safe for them. Sticking to alleyways and shadows had worked out for them so far but as they reached the end of their current path they could hear the sounds of apes and people screaming. Alex signaled for them to stop and then proceeded forward to take a look.

Glancing around she saw a few large apes standing over a handful of civilians who were on their knees. The apes seemed to be enjoying themselves and preparing to execute their prisoners any moment now. Alex felt bile rise in her throat as she considered leaving them and using their deaths as a distraction to continue on. They needed to cross the street and move into the next alley. They were so close to their safe house now, being captured or killed now would be the end of everything. Was it worth the risk to save these few people? What would Kara or J'onn do?

She swallowed her doubt after that thought knowing full well that her sister and J'onn would fly headlong into battle without hesitation. She leaned back around the corner into cover and turned to her men signaling that there were three apes and several civilians. She didn't know if her small squad would be enough to stop the armored gorillas but she had to try.

Looking to Winn she whispered, "Stay here. Move when I call you and not before."

"Wh-what's happening?" Winn asked.

"Ssh," Alex held her finger to her lip. "Do as your told and you'll be fine." Without another word she checked her weapon and leaned on the wall at the end of the alleyway. She took a quick glance then signaled for two to follow her.

Alex inhaled swiftly then exhaled slowly, in her head counting down from three to one. On one she crouched and shuffled quickly to the nearest cover behind a car closely followed by two men. The remaining soldiers would wait until the shooting started then spring from cover of the alleyway and engage the enemy. Alex took a final look at the two soldiers with her both of whom gave her assuring head nods that served to steel her faith in the chosen course of action.

Alex nodded back. "Concentrate fire. Aim for the nearest one." she whispered carefully then rose from cover and opened fire in bursts of three. The two soldiers did as well each of them unloading into the nearest of the apes catching them completely off guard. The three of them nearly had to empty their clips just to take down a single one of the large beasts while the other three took a moment to take cover.

Alex and the others took cover, reloaded and then began firing again, careful not to hit the civilians that were now running for their lives but making sure to provide cover fire for their escape. The other apes must have realized they were facing a small contingent of humans and stood tall unloading with their own weapons, pushing Alex back into cover. The car they were behind was slowly being torn to shreds and as things began to seem desperate the rest of her troops came barreling from the alleyway unleashing hot lead at the enemy.

One ape caught several shots to the head and fell down while the second seemed to be injured and fell backward as well. Together, all of the D.E.O soldiers focused on the final ape quickly cutting him down as he began to scream for reinforcements. Alex held up her hand to signal that they held their fire.

"Watch our six," she told some soldiers. "You and you with me."

Alex started out at a jog toward the gorillas to make sure they were down. She couldn't risk them being found and informing the reinforcements that were likely on their way about their position. Carefully moving with her finger on the trigger she approached the vehicle the gorillas has been behind. Two dead and a third squirming with large holes along its shoulder. She aimed and fired into its head putting it out of its misery before it could call out. A quick glance around showed no sign of the civilians they'd helped and she said a silent prayer that they didn't just run into more of these damned invaders.

They jogged back to the rest of the men and she signaled for Winn to come out of hiding. "C'mon, we've got to move before their reinforcements arrive," she told him and started toward the alleyway entrance across from where they had just been.

It took another ten or so minutes before they entered a particularly dark and smelly corner of an alleyway. It was there that Alex signaled for a halt and scanned the area briefly, noting the ever present look of fear on Winn's face. It almost made her smile. He was cute in a boyish sort of way. Like how a small dog or defenseless child was. With her soldiers watching her back she went to a spot on a brick wall behind them and pressed a series of unseen buttons that let out a sound like a lock being opened.

Stones began to shift & slide revealing a sturdy steel door with a retinal scanned on the upper right portion of it. A mechanical voice instructed, "Name and code."

Alex stepped up and placed her eye near the scanner while saying, "Danvers. Alpha zero niner ultra."

There was silence for a moment and then the sounds of locks opening returned and the steel door slid away. "Everybody in. Now." Alex stepped aside allowing the soldiers and Winn to go in first then she followed and the door sealed itself behind them. Winn could hear the sounds of machinery powering up and monitors activating.

At the party continued, Alex and the soldiers opened every door they passed to assure that the hideout had not been compromised. The hall was long with several doors along the way. Winn managed a glance in some of the rooms seeings beds, eating areas, weapons and armor storage and generators in some as well. This place was designed to operate independent from National City and the D.E.O headquarters, it seemed. 'Smart move,' Winn thought to himself.

At the end of the hallway was a set of steel double doors, heavily armored as if for a bunker. Alex pushed them open revealing an amazing assortment of monitors and computer screens along with a large round table in the middle etched with the D.E.O logo into its center. The monitors were already on but displaying only blue screens.

Alex wasted no time, "Harkins, Malone, get the news feeds up on those monitors. Reyes, get the S.O.S signal going so any surviving Agents know this is a safe haven. Polanski, you get Winn set up. The rest of you refresh, refuel and resupply. Shifts rotate in two hours." the D.E.O agents fell to their orders without words. Alex was quite the leader it seemed.

"Um, Alex," Winn shuffled next to her. "So you never told me what exactly I'm supposed to be doing."

Alex looked at him as if she couldn't believe it had slipped her mind, "Winn, we know you're a hacker and you help Kara." Winn's face dropped immediately thinking of the trouble he could be in for his illegal activity. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to blackmail you. This base is outfitted with the latest tech. I need you to search for answers about what is controlling my sister and Director Henshaw, where this gorilla army is coming from and how we can send them back. I want to know hostage locations and where the apes are amassing. You have my permission as acting Director of the D.E.O to hack whatever you have to to get me the information we need to save this city.

Winn had never heard something so rousing in all his life and it must have shown on his face because Alex smiled, "Welcome to the D.E.O," she said and pleasantly touched his shoulder. It was the first time in hours Winn hadn't looked like a nervous wreck. "Now get to work. We've got a city- no, a world to save."

* * *

A line of explosions detonated down a city block sending debris and clouds of smoke high up into the air. A cacophony of screams, gunshots and detonations blended together in a symphony of destruction that rang out around Central City. People screaming for help or the sweet release of death coupled with the battle cries of the massive ape soldiers seemed to almost be fighting with each other to be heard.

The National Guard on the city's borders had failed, defeated by the unending assault of a more powerful, better armed foe. Slowly but surely the savageness of the invading army had pushed until the retreat was called. That's when the fighting had turned into wholesale slaughter. No mercy was shown by Grodd's forces nor was any quarter given. When the soldiers began to turn and flee the gorillas brutally mauled who they could with weapons, grenades, spears and fists insuring that little resistance would be left. Reinforcements awaited within the city and now the battle had gone from two lines of the borders to urban battle all over Central City.

The National Guard and CCPD fought as valiantly as could be expected but nobody was prepared for the sheer ferocity of their foes. All hope had seemed lost until the League had arrived. Even without their heavy hitters, Supergirl and Martian Manhunter, the League was a formidable force. Upon arrival Oliver and the others had gone straight to Star Labs to be briefed on the current situation. Hearts dropped to learn that their two strongest members had somehow become pawns in Grodd's army but before any sort of rescue plan could be concocted the news of the apes in the city had reached them and everyone had suited up and prepared for battle.

They had split into two teams the first consisted of Green Arrow, Black Canary, Vixen, Speedy, Barry and Hawkman. The second team was Spartan, White Canary, Jessie, Wally and Hawkgirl. Iris, Wells and Felicity would be running the operation from the safety of Star Labs. With the teams set they had broken up and headed out into the fray.

Felicity had used her insane typing skills to locate the best position for each team, "Oliver, the CCPD is bogged down heavily just two blocks north of you. Diggle, we've got Grodd's forces rounding up citizens on third."

Iris glanced at Felicity's screen, "Barry, my dad is with those officers!"

Oliver looked at Barry. "You have to go! We'll be there in a few minutes!"

Without another word the fastest man alive was gone near instantly appearing beside his beloved father figure. In that instant Barry was able to fully scope the situation. It was bad, bullets were seemingly frozen in the air along with spears and beams from Grodd's armies particle weapons crawling at speeds so slow they may as well not be moving. Explosions and bodies were all over the area as the CCPD stood their ground against the coming horde of frothing murderous apes. Barry could see some officers dragging away injured comrades some hiding behind cover, holding woulds, reloading weapons and a few cowering in fear.

Barry had seen enough, he grabbed Joe as safely as possible and dashed him a safe distance away before Joe could even finish pulling the trigger. When Barry stopped Joe completed the action and the gunshot went off causing Barry to jump. "Barry?!" Joe looked shocked. "What the hell, son?!"

Barry smiled, "Clearing out the civilians." Barry replied. "The League is here so we're gonna clean this up."

Before Joe could say anything Barry was gone. Joe checked his gun then looked around, "I'm not a civilian." he told nobody before jogging back towards the action.

By the time Oliver and the others arrived Barry had cleared nearly all of the CCPD on scene. Oliver sprang from the passenger side releasing several explosive arrows at the line of gorillas.

"Vixen! Hawkman! Engage the enemy. Canary, Speedy! Perimeter control!"

The team immediately went to work. Hawkman spread his wings and took to the sky flying at full speed towards a gorilla wielding a mini-gun. He flew left and right easily dodging the spray of gunfire, brandishing his mace. He smacked the mini-gun into the distance then drove the mace into the gorilla's head knocking the beast several feet away.

Vixen landed beside him, embodying the power of an elephant and charged forward tearing into the surprised ape's front line. As she charged three arrows sailed past her and Hawkman. They hit their mark; three apes that were immediately encased in a solid foam-like prison. Behind them Black Canary and Speedy moved together knowing that separate they were likely no match for the gorillas. The Canary cry sounded several times, crippling the gorillas long enough for Speedy to fire off stun arrows that shocked numerous apes and brought them to the ground.

Barry finished carrying off the last of the CCPD then used his speed to remove the weapons from a dozen gorillas' hands. The momentary shock of suddenly being weaponless was quickly capitalized upon by the League members present. Hawkman's mace slammed into the head of another gorilla before he flapped his wings and spun dodging a strike from another. Vixen came from the side empowered by a gorilla and clocked the beast with a thunderous blow of her own.

Not far off two had begun to engage the invaders as well. Led by Spartan, White Canary, Atom, Hawkgirl and the two younger speedsters, Kid Flash and Jessie Quick charged into battle.

'This is the worst time to not have powers,' Spartan thought as he and White Canary watched the powered members go headlong into the fray.

Atom flew above the skies with Hawkgirl, shooting beams of energy and punching gorillas onto their backs. Blurs of lightning and wind before weapons were lost in apes hands showed the speedsters were doing their best as well. Before Spartan could formulate another though he and White Canary had two large blasters that the gorillas had just been attempting to shoot with.

"Thank me later," Wally grinned and was gone.

"I'll never get used to that," Spartan murmured as he raised the heavy weapon.

"It's alright. Without all their powers we'd easily kick their asses." White Canary smiled in a sort of malicious way and Spartan found himself wondering if Sarah's resurrection by John Constantine had changed her at all. Still, now was not the time for such thoughts and he opened fire shooting as many of the charging brutes as he could.

Atom shrank down and then grew clocking a gorilla in the chin before Hawkgirl swooped down and finished it off with a vicious kick.

"They seem endless." Atom struggled to catch his breath.

"It seems like we're at least slowing them down some." Hawkgirl's breathing was labored as well.

"You throw sand in the ocean and call it progress," a voice echoed behind them.

Atom and Hawkgirl turned and were face to face with the sudden appearance of Martian Manhunter. "Guys, J'onn is here!" they both started to slowly back away as Atom said this.

Oliver ducked a burst of heat vision "Wish we could help but Supergirl just showed up over here!" he released two arrows that exploded but did nothing but distract the girl of steel. The CCPD had begun engaging again along with the remaining National Guard so the rush of furred madness had slowed momentarily but that wouldn't be for long.

"Ollie, we weren't ready to handle Kara, J'onn and an ape army," Speedy squealed.

Diggle grimaced behind his helmet. "We haven't been able to break through to the civilians!" he said solemnly.

"We can't risk it, Spartan. Speedy is right, we've got to retreat and regroup," Oliver instructed, sounding pained by having to abandon the fight and civilians. He knew that fighting Kara and J'onn would only endanger more people then they could save and eventually they would all be either caught or killed leaving no one left to defend the city. A strategic retreat was their only option. "Speedsters, get everyone out of here." He swallowed his pride as he drew an arrow and fired at Supergirl as distraction from the lightning that was currently engulfing members of his team.

She glared at him through the blast completely unaffected by the detonation and her eyes burned red. He'd seen this before. 'Heat vision,' he thought. Before he could even react to dodge, Barry had scooped him up and Oliver found himself standing in Star Labs as Wells and Jessie arrived with the last League members.

"Now what, Ollie?" Thea roughly took off her mask.

Oliver could see defeat in all of their eyes so he stood tall and tried to look as strong as possible. Everyone felt the weight of their loss, it felt like they'd been in battle for days and had accomplished nothing. Oliver knew he had to do his best to lead them as he was the veteran crime fighter here.

"Now we plan so this doesn't happen again."

* * *

"I think I've just about got it figured out." Cisco glanced sidelong at the ape that was constantly glaring at them from the doorway. He made sure to keep his voice low, unsure of how well the ape could hear. "I've traced where all of these machines seem to be getting power from." He gestured to the numerous bulk of machines that was in their prison work area. "That cord right there isn't connected to anything. I can see it must be powering the meta dampening tech their using."

Caitlin looked apprehensive. "What if you're wrong?" she whispered back.

Cisco shrugged. "We could just chill here and keep working on the murder machine for Grodd if you want. I'm cool with that."

Caitlin made a sour face. "This isn't a time for jokes, Cisco. We're more then halfway done with this machine and Grodd's entire army will be here!"

"Well then distract that guard gorilla so I can accidentally cut that cord and get my powers back," Cisco replied.

Caitlin swallowed, a bit fearful but turned toward the gorilla and made her way over to him. "Is there any chance we could get some food or water? It's been hours and I-"

The gorilla growled. "Get back to work before I rip you in half, human!"

Caitlin visibly jumped but knew she had to continue, "Sir, I'm dying of thirst and hunger. Humans can't work if they don't have the energy. How mad will Grodd be if he finds out the machine isn't finished because you didn't feed us or give us water?"

The gorilla snarled and glared for a moment or two but then turned to the door and knocked, "Bring the humans food and water," it growled.

In that instant Cisco didn't hesitate. He grabbed the sharpest tool he had been able to find in the workplace and drove it into the cord he'd identified. It took three swings but he managed to dig into it causing a loud powering down sound followed by the lights flickering a bit.

"What have you done?!" the gorilla raged and jumped toward Cisco.

Cisco held up his hands and pushed out as much power as he could. The burst slammed into the gorilla knocking it head over heels through some equipment and roughly into the wall.

"So glad that worked." He exhaled loudly and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Let's get the hell out of here. Vibe us somewhere else!" Caitlin exclaimed.

Cisco focused and tried to create a portal but nothing happened. "Shit. I guess the machine must have messed up my powers or something."

"So we're trapped?" Caitlin looked worried.

"We'll just have to get out of here the old-fashioned way," Cisco replied while shaking his head.

They both carefully moved to the door and opened it only to be greeted by the larger gorilla holding a tray of food. "What is going on?!" the gorilla dropped the tray and started reaching for its weapon. Cisco froze up while Caitlin screamed do something.

At that moment the roof exploded inward and a black blur swooped in. Suddenly the gorilla was gone, tossed through a newly formed hole in the wall across from them. The collisions were so loud that Cisco and Caitlin had closed their eyes from fear. When they opened them woman dressed in all black was standing in front of them.

"Who are you?" Cisco whispered. "You kind of look like-"

"Over there! The humans are escaping!"

"Kill them!"

Four more gorillas lumbered down the hall toward them. The woman didn't hesitate. She flew right at them seemingly impervious to their weapon fire. She sunk her fist into the belly of one knocking it through the roof and out of sight. The second tried to attack but the woman caught its spear like weapon, bent it and with a vicious blow knocked the primate out cold the remaining two wavered for for a moment before one shouted "For King Grodd!"

The woman lifted the nearest gorilla by the throat as if it were a child and Caitlin and Cisco winced at the loud snapping sound of its neck breaking in her hands. The final beast was hit in the chest with red hot beams of energy from the woman's eyes and fell dead with two holes burned into its chest.

"Cisco...was that?" Caitlin whispered.

"Heat vision..." Cisco nodded his head.

The woman looked at her work before making her way back to them, "Are you the captured humans known as, Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow?" the woman asked with folded arms and an intense scowl. They both nodded silently, still somewhat fearful and shocked by this entire situation. "I am Astra Zor-El, Aunt of Supergirl. I'm here to rescue you." Telling these humans her identity would never have crossed Astra's mind as a logical plan but she needed information. She knew that these two had interactions with her niece and she figured perhaps knowing this would make them trust her more.

Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other.

"Thank you," Caitlin said, feeling a bit better after hearing this woman was related to Supergirl. She'd never heard mention of her but Supergirl was a hero so it stood to reason that this woman could be trusted. "How did you find us?"

Astra scoffed, "I have my ways. Now, I have questions. Tell me what is happening with my niece."

Cisco spoke up, "We don't know. One second we're talking and the next she comes blasting in the roof and snatched us up."

Caitlin added, "We think it has something to do with, Grodd."

Astra raised an eyebrow. "Grodd?"

"Yeah, he's the leader of the invading army." Caitlin explained. "He's a hyper-intelligent ape with psychic abilities and super strength."

Astra looked thoughtful, "That could explain some things." She rubbed her chin, "Come. Let's get out of here and you can tell me more about this Grodd."

* * *

"There's no way we can fight gorillas, protect people and take on Kara and J'onn. Hell, I don't even know if we couldn't fight Kara and J'onn without all the extras." Diggle sounded exasperated.

Ray Palmer stood with his helmet off and arms folded slightly while holding his chin. "We don't really need to fight them but more to try to free them from whatever is controlling their minds. If we could get them back on our side we could turn the tide of this thing."

"Yeah, but how do you propose we do that?" Kendra Saunders stood next to Carter Hall. "Do we even know what's controlling them?"

"It has to be Grodd," Barry said. "He had to be controlling their minds somehow."

"Can he even do that?" Wells asked. "The last we saw of him he was able to attack minds, read them and communicate telepathically but to control beings of their power..." he paused and removed his glasses. "...who's to say he couldn't take over any of your minds as well."

"And that would make this situation even worse then it already is." Laurel flopped into a seat, tired from the fighting and debating. The team had made no progress on a viable solution.

"We can't just leave those people out there to suffer and we have to help. My dad is out there right now fighting against Grodd's army alongside hundreds of this nation's finest. We have to do something guys," Iris said from behind a computer monitor with Felicity sitting next to her.

"Perhaps we could be of some assistance."

Everyone turned around to see the source of the interruption. "Professor Stein! Jefferson!' Barry smiled and zoomed over to his friends, embracing them. "I'm glad to see you're both alright."

Professor Stein smiled as he shook hands with Harrison Wells, Wally then hugged Jessie and Iris before Jefferson did the same. "Where have you both been? I'd nearly forgotten about you," Iris said.

"We had to make sure our families were safe," Jefferson responded. "When the news about the monkey army hit it caught us off guard."

"Gorillas, Jefferson. Monkeys and gorillas are vastly different," Professor Stein corrected, always in teacher mode. It made Barry smile. Visits from the two of them had begun to slow down since the Speed War. They'd dropped by from time to time with updates on their lives and progression as Firestorm.

"Whatever, gray. Now's not the time. We've got a city to save from those fur-balls." Jefferson half-smiled, knowing that his other half meant no harm.

"I'm sorry, who are you two?" Oliver and the other members of the League had remained quiet this entire time, Thea had even put on her mask. It seemed Team Flash knew them but they were complete strangers to everyone else and secret identities were very important.

"Oh snap! The Green Arrow!" Jefferson smiled and clapped his hands. "And the entire League?!" He was clearly lost in the moment of being around the most famous heroes in the world.

Professor Stein shook his head and approached Oliver with an extended hand. "I apologize for my colleague. He's a bit young." He smiled warmly. "My name is Professor Martin Stein and this is Jefferson Jackson. Together we are Firestorm."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Firestorm?"

"Uh, Professor, I think it'd be better if you guys just showed them." Barry grinned, knowing the other members weren't ready for what they were about to see. He took some steps back from Professor Stein and Jefferson. Seeing this, Oliver and the others did the same though they were unsure of what was about to happen.

"Fair enough. Seeing is believing after all. Jefferson..." Professor Stein stepped next to Jefferson who was rubbing his hands excitedly as the prospect of showing off to the League members.

The two slapped hands and there was a burst of flames that suddenly coalesced. Oliver jumped back even more from shock and Diggle instinctively reached for his weapon. "What the hell?" he murmured. Where the two men had just been now only stood Jefferson with his hands and head completely engulfed in flames. "Now I've seen everything..." Diggle moved his hand away from his weapon.

"Firestorm," Jefferson repeated to Oliver and the others with a nod. Then the two of them separated, both smiling broadly at the shocked looks they were receiving from everyone present in the room.

"The nuclear powered superhero, if you will," Professor Stein added cheerfully. "We're here to help however we can."

Oliver looked at Barry who was laughing with Wally and Jessie then he turned his gaze to the other members of the League. Things seemed to progressively get weirder and weirder every year for him since he had first donned his green outfit and began defending his city. After a moment to gather his thoughts Oliver looked at Professor Stein and Jefferson, extending his hand to both of them one at a time and saying, "Welcome to the team," while firmly shaking.

Oliver was about to begin talking about a possible plan before another voice came from the doorway. "Well isn't this little recruitment drive going just peachy?"

Oliver knew that voice too well and it was not one he was necessarily happy to hear. "Waller? What the hell are you doing here?"

Thea looked at the members of Team Flash. "You guys seriously need to upgrade your security here. Can everyone just walk right in?" her question went unanswered however as all who knew Waller and her ways were immediately on the defensive. Her presence here could mean anything and most of it was not likely good.

Nobody reacted to seeing Amanda Waller with cheer or joy. The commander of A.R.G.U.S stood in the doorway with her arms folded and a look of malice on her face. Beside her was Lyla Diggle who quickly went and embraced her husband firmly before kissing him.

"Such a warm welcome," Waller joked as she walked to the monitors next to Iris and Felicity. "If you haven't noticed, Mr. Queen there's an army of otherworldly beasts invading my country. A.R.G.U.S is here to help."

"A.R.G.U.S?" Sarah Lance looked at everyone. "We're OK with them knowing our identities?"

Waller scoffed loudly, "I've known who all of you were since the moment you decided to become vigilantes." She glared at Sarah. "You have nothing to worry about. If I wanted to come after you or out your identities I could have done it a long time ago. I'm here to offer the full support of my troops and resources in stopping this invasion, Miss Lance. Your secrets are safe with me."

Sarah looked unhappy but swallowed her words and just moved backward from the group. Nobody seemed to notice but Laurel. Oliver took that moment to take control.

"Alright. Now that everyone has been introduced and we know what we're working with I think we can come together and make a plan," he said sternly. "With A.R.G.U.S, the CCPD and National Guard I believe we can keep Grodd's ground forces distracted while the speedsters clear civilians and the rest of us tackle the big problem."

"The aliens," Waller murmured with no short amount of distaste in her tone.

"Kara and J'onn have helped us and saved lives numerous times before," Barry reminded her.

"That doesn't change the fact that they are aliens, Mr. Allen. Does it?" she snapped back. "I always wondered what would happen if a day came where the Kryptonian went rogue. Now it seems we have that and a Martian to deal with."

"Don't worry about them. Our goal is to try and free them from Grodd's mind control above all else," Oliver told Waller who looked upset by this but remained silent. "Kara and J'onn would never intentionally do anything like this. We have to try to save them if we can. They'd do the same for us and you know it, Waller."

While they continued to make plans Lyla whispered into Diggle's ear. "I have to tell you something, John," she said.

Diggle pulled her a few steps away from everyone. "What's the matter, honey?"

"When I originally tried to get Waller to help you guys she said no so I..." Lyla hesitated. "...I freed Deadshot and Huntress so they'd come help keep you safe."

Diggle looked into his wife's eyes and when he realized she was telling the truth his shoulders slumped. "Does Waller know?"

"I think so but if she does she hasn't said anything," Lyla replied with a quick glance at Waller. "After it was done I went about my work as usual. She sent word that she wanted to speak to me and when I got there she told me her plan to bring reinforcements to Central City. We haven't spoken about it as of yet."

Diggle sighed, unsure of what to do about this. "Okay, we'll worry about that later. Right now we've got bigger fish to fry." He kissed Lyla. "I love you."

"I love you too." The two of them moved back into the circle so they could finish hearing the plan the League was making.

As that happened Laurel approached her sister Sarah with visible concern on her face. It hadn't been too long since Sarah had been brought back from the dead by a strange ritual. John Constantine had warned that she may be different but so far she and Oliver hadn't noticed anything different really. Sarah had been more reserved and quiet than before but nothing else out of the ordinary.

"You alright, sis?" Laurel asked Sarah.

Sarah looked at her, eyes holding a look of distance at first before she said, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"Because you don't look like it."

Sarah opened her mouth to lie again but she could see the worry in her sisters face. "I just...I just feel kind of out of place since that Constantine guy brought me back," she admitted. "Plus everything is so different now." She motioned to the room full of metahumans, vigilantes and government agents. "Where do I fit into all this?"

Laurel took Sarah's hand. She loved her sister and was beyond joyed to have her back and fighting alongside her. Laurel had tried to give Sarah back her title as Black Canary but to her surprise Sarah had said no. She told Laurel she as a different person now and had taken up the mantle of White Canary instead. Laurel held her sisters hand and simply replied, "With me."

* * *

"Detective West! I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out!"

Joe West was breathing heavily and ducked behind a CCPD car as bullets and energy weapon discharge flew from all angles. The fighting was heavy and intense, especially since the League members had retreated. The only blessing from that was that Supergirl and Martian Manhunter had seemingly vanished as well. Joe couldn't imagine how long they'd last if those two had stayed in the fighting.

The CCPD and the National Guard were doing the best that they could and had managed to bottle in large pockets of the invaders to somewhat stem their flow into the city. How long that would last he didn't know. It depended on their ability to stay alive and keep constant fire trained a the enemy soldiers. With ammo running low and many wounded Joe wasn't sure how long they could realistically hold out at this choke point.

Word from the other areas of resistance was similar as well so he knew it was just a matter of time before the relentless attacks won out and pushed Central City's defenders back. Joe was resigned to fight to his last breath knowing full well that death was better then living under the hell of that mad ape Grodd.

"We have to hold as long as we can!" Joe finally screamed. "Don't let up!" he stood up and began firing his gun.

An RPG flew over his head and slammed into the enemy line tearing it to shreds. When Joe looked back to see where it had come from four huge military trucks came screeching to a halt and dozens of soldiers began hopping from the backs of them. All of the soldiers were wearing black body armor etched with the A.R.G.U.S logo and holding heavy assault rifles.

Joe nearly teared up. Reinforcements had arrived.

A few more RPG's shot out and before his eyes Joe watched the enemy line go up in bursts of glorious napalm. Cheers went up from the tired National Guard and CCPD men he'd been fighting with as the A.R.G.U.S soldiers joined them and began opening fire on the remaining enemies.

Feeling a sudden renewal of vigor and energy Joe reloaded his gun and joined in shouting, "Don't let up! We can do this!"

All over the city A.R.G.U.S reinforcements were landing and giving much needed aid to the ground troops that had been in heavy battle for hours now. Waller, Lyla, Felicity, Iris and Wells were all monitoring the various battlegrounds from Star Labs with Waller giving instructions to her troops based on what information they could gather.

A.R.G.U.S helicopters were swooping in and dropping off soldiers while vehicles of various sizes were doing the same. Some troops in jeeps were unloading on enemy troops with heavy mounted machine guns. A few attack helicopters provided air support, bombing specific areas of higher concentrations with rockets and gas weapons. The initial surprise of the counter attack had caught the gorillas off guard and was causing heavy loses. However the battle-ready leaders began to rally their troops and fight back, opening fire with RPG's of their own and taking down some of the helicopters and A.R.G.U.S transport vehicles. Their energy weapons began shooting into the sky to stop the air assaults while they returned fire and the shooting battle was once again joined.

A squadron of gorillas screamed at a pack of humans they were herding through the streets, leading them to wherever they had been taking the hostages they'd captured. The city block was lined with the corpses of CCPD and National Guardsmen from the fighting that had gone on there. The gorillas had won and been able to hold the territory for a while now. The people were crying and pleading for their lives to be spared but it fell on deaf ears.

One of the gorillas clubbed a man in the back of the head with his spear knocking him to the ground. "Shut your mouths and walk!" the gorilla bellowed causing more whimpering and crying.

Another gorilla went to slap a woman with his spear but she vanished before his eyes. "What the..." he glanced around. "Where did she-"

Several people began to vanish and before he could even utter another word all of the people they had just been herding were gone. "What happened?"

The squad of gorillas got no verbal answer.

Atom and Firestorm opened fire on them from the sky with beams and blasts of fire. Vixen, Hawkman and Hawkgirl landed in the midst of the explosions their allies were setting off and began going to work on the gorillas left standing, making short work of them.

"Civilians saved," Barry reported as he, Wally, and Jessie stopped nearby. "Send us the next batch."

Felicity and Iris began tapping away at the keys of their respective computer screens. "Wally, people need help two blocks north," Iris told her brother.

"Barry, you and Jessie can save the ones on the the next block over from Wally. Oliver and the others are already there fighting," Felicity informed them. "Atom, you and the others can fly over to Oliver and help them with their current fight. Footage shows gorilla reinforcements are almost on them. They'll be overrun."

"Got it." Atom and Firestorm shot up into the sky quickly followed by the Hawks and Vixen.

It took them a minute to get there but when they did Green Arrow, the Canaries, Spartan, Speedy, a few CCPD, National Guard and some A.R.G.U.S agents were engaged in a shootout with a large pack of gorillas. Firestorm came over the top of them and began unleashing flaming hell onto the front line providing their forces brief reprieve from their fire for a moment. Citizens were surrounded by gorillas but one by one they were disappearing before the apes eyes thanks to the speedsters.

Atom, the Hawks, and Vixen took to the corner where the reinforcements had just arrived. "This is getting hectic." Atom began shooting from the ground bottling up the incoming forces.

"Don't let up." Oliver fired off numerous arrows alongside Speedy. "Stick to the plan. We have to draw out-"

Heat vision shredded the ground in front of Atom barely missing him. Ray fell onto his back and began sliding backwards. "They're drawn! They're drawn!" he repeated fearfully.

Supergirl crashed into the street causing a small crater to appear as she glared down at Atom. Her eyes began to glow red but before she could attack with her heat vision again Hawkman flew from the side and clubbed her in the head with his mace knocking her to the right into a car.

"Careful, Carter." Vixen came next to him.

Hawkman scoffed loudly and brandished his mace proudly. "She can take it."

The car Supergirl had just hit flew directly at them. They barely had time to dodge. "He's right. I can take it." She flew right at them but was tackled by Hawkgirl and thrown into the ground.

"Keep her distracted!" Oliver took cover. "J'onn will be here any minute." He looked at the nearby members of the League. "Alright. Let's start the second phase of this. Waller, send us the backup."

"It's already en route," Waller replied through the comm.

Martian Manhunter floated up from the ground a few feet away from Oliver with his arms folded. Oliver didn't hesitate almost instantly firing two explosive arrows that knocked Martian Manhunter down to the ground. He quickly recovered but was caught by a canary cry from Black Canary. While holding his ears White Canary ran to him and slapped him across the face twice with her batons.

As they fought, Waller's A.R.G.U.S soldiers pulled up and began firing at the gorillas and Supergirl. Oliver and Thea both shot explosive arrows at Martian Manhunter at the same time, the explosion knocked him backward several feet but he wasn't down for long. As he stood Barry came up and spun his arms at super speed, the wind bursts tossed Martian Manhunter backward forcefully into a wall.

"The next wave of civilians are safe guys," he quickly reported to Oliver and the others.

"Then lets get to the next phase," Oliver replied. "Alright everyone. Start moving. We've got to get these two away from Grodd's forces."

The League members quickly fell into their assigned tasks. Hawkman and Hawkgirl flew up and lifted Oliver and Thea into the air while Atom did the same for White Canary. Barry smiled at the uncomfortable look on Diggle's face as Barry prepared to take him away. Vixen flew past as Wally and Jessie helped get the other League members away with Firestorm burning a trail in the sky bringing up the rear.

Supergirl and Martian Manhunter burst upward and took off after them.

"Looks like they've taken the bait, Jefferson," Professor Stein said.

"Yeah, let's hope we can keep in front of them long enough to reach the safe point," Jefferson replied. The safe point was an area pre-scouted by Felicity as having no civilian activity or gorilla presence. If the League was going to stand a chance at freeing their friends they had to be able to fully focus all of their respective talents on Supergirl and Martian Manhunter.

A few minutes passed and Firestorm landed on the ground next to the fully assembled League members. Supergirl and Martian Manhunter came right in front of them. The area was an empty field across from what appeared to be a school of some kind. The streets around had signs of battle that had happened there but nothing was going on at the moment except a standoff of between Earth's greatest defenders.

"Kara..." Barry took off his mask and stepped forward with his hands out. "...it's us. You remember us, right?" he took a few more steps.

"Careful, Barry," Iris whispered through the comm.

Oliver followed suit. "Kara, J'onn, I don't know what's happening to you but you've got to let us help you. Come back to Star Labs with us."

Both Supergirl and Martian Manhunter stared blankly at them and then without warning flew forward to attack. Barry's speed saved Oliver from being tackled by Supergirl. The other League members immediately went into battle mode. Atom and Firestorm attacked Supergirl and took to the sky with the Hawks right on their tails. Before any others could do the same Martian Manhunter landed in the midst of them catching Spartan by the neck and throwing him aside while shapeshifting into a large dragon-like beast.

"Holy shit!" Thea dove to the side as the beast's tail lashed out in her direction nearly hitting her.

The dragon struck out with its massive hand knocking the Canaries backward several feet before three arrows hit its body setting off small explosions. Its head turned to glare at Oliver and Vixen jumped up with the strength of a gorilla driving a fist into its face. As that happened the three speedsters dashed around its legs punching and kicking at every inch of the beast but seemingly only annoying it more.

In the sky Supergirl flew right through Atom and Firestorm's attacks, grabbing Atom by the chest with her left hand and punching him backward with the right. Firestorm managed to spin out of her reach just as Hawkman hit her in the back with his mace and Hawkgirl slammed her in the same spot with a hammer fist. He pushed her away but she turned around and used her wind breath to send both of them careening off.

Atom gripped his damaged chest armor and floated slowly to the ground. "She damaged my suit," he said with a hint of pain in his voice. "But I don't think she hit me at full strength. I think Kara is still in there somewhere fighting."

Diggle groaned and got to his feet, pulling his pistol and shooting at Martian Manhunter's dragon form. "If you can't help up there then help down here. There's still a fight going on, Ray."

"Right." Atom shot several beams at Martian Manhunter that stumbled him.

"If we can't convince them to stop we're going to have to knock them out then take them back," Oliver said while firing arrows with Speedy.

"I"m really not sure we can knock them out." Barry went in to attack Martian Manhunter again with Wally and Jessie coming from other angles.

At the last minute Martian Manhunter's form faded away and the three speedsters crashed into each other at nearly full speed hitting the ground hard. His form quickly solidified and he attacked again cracking Vixen with a vicious backhand before charging at Oliver and Thea, completely ignoring Atom and Spartan.

"Look out!" Firestorm swooped down and shot a line of fire into the ground between them before taking off back into the sky, barely staying ahead of Supergirl.

Martian Manhunter transformed back into his regular form, hesitating and backing away from the fire. Oliver cocked his head, seeing the fear in the martians eyes and made a mental note of it. "Thea, hit him with the foam prison arrows."

Four arrows hit Martian Manhunter's seemingly frozen body and the white foam came out of it and engulfed his body locking him in place. Oliver hoped the doubling down on it would be enough to hold him while the fire kept him frozen in place. All he had to do was phase through it but hopefully the fire would help prevent that.

"Alright. We're making progress." Thea grinned and slapped Oliver on the shoulder.

A roar echoed across the open expanse of the field so loud it shook the three speedsters from their momentary daze. Grodd landed roughly on the ground first with a silver gorilla landing after him, the second being as large as Grodd had been before being send to another Earth by the Flash. Grodd roared again and slammed his fist into his chest several times.

"You will all serve Grodd or die!" he screamed into their minds. "Solovar, free the Martian!"

"As you wish, my King." Solovar aimed his spear-like weapon and shot several energy burst from it that destroyed the foam around Martian Manhunter.

"Oliver, I think this situation just got worse." Diggle reloaded his pistol and wished he'd had kept that gorilla weapon he'd had early.

"You've got to get out of there! Now!" Wells shouted into the comm. "There's no way you can take them all."

"Barry...we need an escape." Oliver said low so Grodd couldn't hear him.

Barry was staring directly at Grodd with the other speedsters next to him. It was the first time he'd seen the gorilla since sending him away. It was even more terrifying then before. He was massive and swollen with power. His eyes burned with hated and his snarl seemed almost as loud as the roar he'd just cried out with. The staff Grodd held caught Barry's eye as well, the jewel adorning the top seemed blacker then anything he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Flash..." Grodd growled in a low tone. "...there are more of you then I remember." He glared at Wally and Jessie. Supergirl landed beside Grodd and Solovar at the same time that Firestorm slammed into the ground beside Black and White Canary.

"Barry! Now!" Oliver and Thea began shooting their arsenal of arrows at Grodd, Solovar and Supergirl. Explosions and smoke began to erupt. One by one the speedsters rushed everyone from the scene. Atom shrank down and held firmly onto Jessie's costume, eyes closed from the blinding speed. By the time the dust settled from Oliver and Thea's assault the field was empty save for Grodd, Solovar and his two thralls, Supergirl and Martian Manhunter.

"Shall we pursue, my King?" Solovar asked, eager for battle.

Grodd was silent. "No. There is only one place they can go and we know where it is. The human reinforcements have begun a counter attack. Go, lead the troops against them. The portal will be finished soon and my full army will be here soon. There is nothing they can do to stop me."

Grodd towered over Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. "You two will help Solovar in quelling this human resistance. Destroy anyone who opposes you."


End file.
